 Photo of Charon centered on Ripley Crater. Nostromo Chasma crosses Ripley vertically. Organa Crater is at 9:00, and Vader is the dark crater at 12:00 | |
| Feature type | Impact crater |
|---|---|
| Location | Charon |
| Coordinates | 55°N15°W / 55°N 15°W [1] |
| Discoverer | New Horizons |
| Naming | Unofficial |
| Eponym | Darth Vader |
Vader is the unofficial name given to a dark crater on Pluto's largest moon Charon. The floor of Vader is darker than the surrounding terrain, covered in the same reddish-brown dark material that covers Neverland Regio on Charon's north pole. Though Charon's surface trends darker with increasing latitude, some craters, such as Vader, interrupt this trend. [2] The crater was discovered by NASA's New Horizons space probe on its way by Pluto. It is named after the character Darth Vader from the Star Wars media franchise; the name has yet to be officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). [3]
