Kubrick Mons
Moated mountain on Charon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kubrick Mons is the name given to the largest of a series of mountain peaks on Pluto's moon Charon that rise out of depressions in the Vulcan Planitia region.[2][3] The feature was first recorded by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard the New Horizons spacecraft during a flyby on 15 July 2015.
Kubrick Mons is a depression with a peak in the middle, shown here in the upper left corner of the inset. | |
| Feature type | Moated mountain |
|---|---|
| Location | Vulcan Planitia, Charon |
| Coordinates | 3.6°N 30.8°E[1] |
| Diameter | 40 kilometres (25 mi) |
| Peak | 3–4 km (1.9–2.5 mi) |
| Discoverer | New Horizons |
| Eponym | Stanley Kubrick |
Physical description
Kubrick Mons has a diameter of 40 kilometres (25 mi) and is 3–4 kilometres (1.9–2.5 mi) in height.[3] The feature is surrounded by a moat which has a depth of 1–2 kilometres (0.62–1.24 mi) below the surrounding area.[4] It is not currently known how Kubrick Mons formed; however, there is speculation that Kubrick Mons may be a cryovolcano and the depression may be the result of a shrinking chamber of water and ammonia.[3] As of November 2019[update] this hypothesis remains unconfirmed.
The mountain was named after film director Stanley Kubrick. Official approval of the name was announced by the International Astronomical Union on 11 April 2018.[5] It is sometimes called Charon's Mountain in a Moat or more simply Moat Mountain.
