Charon (moon) but they are not large enough to be spherical, and they are simply considered to be satellites of Pluto (or of Pluto–Charon). Charon (moon) Charon, also known as (134340) Pluto I, is the largest of the five known natural satellites of the dwarf planet Pluto. It has a mean radius of 606 km. It was discovered in 1978 at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., using photographic plates taken at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS). With half the diameter and one eighth the mass of Pluto, Charon is a very large moon in comparison to
Dwarf planet history. On March 6, 2015, the "Dawn" spacecraft began to orbit Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet. On July 14, 2015, the "New Horizons" space probe flew by Pluto and its five moons. Dawn has also explored the former dwarf planet Vesta. Phoebe has been explored by Cassini (most recently) and Voyager 2, which also explored Triton. These three are thought to be former dwarf planets and therefore their exploration helps in the study of the evolution of dwarf planets. In the immediate aftermath of the IAU definition of dwarf planet, some scientists expressed their disagreement