Charon was found by astronomer James Christy on June 22, 1978, when he was looking at highly blown up picture of Pluto on a photographic plate that taken a couple of months before. Christy noticed that a slight bulge was able to be seen every now and then. This finding was made public on July 7, 1978. Later, the bulge was confirmed on plates dating back to April 29, 1965.