Vulcan Planum

Vulcan Planum

An annotated map of Charon, with Vulcan Planum in the centre of the image
Location	Charon
Discoverer	New Horizons

Vulcan /ˈvʌlkən/ is a large plain on the surface of Pluto's moon Charon, discovered by New Horizons during its flyby of Pluto in July 2015. It is named after the fictional planet Vulcan in the science-fiction series Star Trek.

Geography

Vulcan Planum has a mostly smooth surface with no large craters. The more significant craters have been named after characters from Star Trek, while two mountains have been named after science-fiction authors and directors.

List of named geological features^[1]

References

Pluto
Geography (features)	Regions "Brass Knuckles" Krun Ala Balrog Vucub-Came Hun-Came Meng-p'o Cadejo Cthulhu Hayabusa Lowell Morgoth Pioneer Tombaugh Venera Viking Voyager Mountains Challenger Colles Coleta de Dados Colles Hillary Montes Norgay Montes Plains Sputnik Planitia Valleys and depressions Quidlivun Cavus Lineae Luna Linea General Atmosphere Geology
Moons	Charon (features) Regions Gallifrey Mordor Vulcan Mountains Kubrick Mons Chasms Nostromo Chasma Craters Ripley Crater Geology Geology Other moons Styx Nix Kerberos Hydra
Astronomy	Definition Alan Stern Definition of planet Double planet Dwarf planet IAU definition of planet International Astronomical Union Michael E. Brown Neil deGrasse Tyson Planet Plutino Plutoid Trans-Neptunian object Discovery Clyde Tombaugh James Christy Lowell Observatory Percival Lowell Planet X Roger Putnam Eclipses Solar eclipses on Pluto General Kuiper belt
Exploration	Current Hubble Space Telescope New Horizons Cancelled Pluto Fast Flyby/Pluto Kuiper Express Mariner Mark II Old proposals Voyager 1 TAU
Related	Fiction Mythology