July 26, 2005

Pluto's moon eclipses faint star

Charon blocked the light of the relatively faint star C313.2, casting a shadow that was roughly the same size as the moon itself -- around 630 miles wide. A previous occultation by Charon of a different background star was observed in 1980, but only one telescope -- with limited precision -- managed to observe that event.
What I find amazing is that the a body 40 billion km away casts a shadow on Earth. Granted it's not one that the human eye can see but still amazing that instruments can pick it up.

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