(Greek mythology) The ferryman of Hades, who rowed the shades of the dead across the river Styx.
Used in a Sentence
charon
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for charon.
Editorial note
It's very surprising to me how much (apparent) recent geologic activity there is on both pluto and charon.
Examples18
Definitions3
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(Greek mythology) The ferryman of Hades, who rowed the shades of the dead across the river Styx.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of charon gathered in one view.
(astronomy) The largest of the five moons of Pluto.
(poetic) Any ferryman.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for charon.
noun
(Greek mythology) The ferryman of Hades, who rowed the shades of the dead across the river Styx.
noun
(astronomy) The largest of the five moons of Pluto.
noun
(poetic) Any ferryman.
Example sentences
It's very surprising to me how much (apparent) recent geologic activity there is on both pluto and charon.
The views of Pluto and Charon already reveal how incredibly fascinating this system is.
The center of mass of the Pluto / Charon system lies outside of Pluto.
Postulating here: Is it possible the mountains are a result of gravitational pull of Charon on Pluto's water-ice mantle during pluto's formative years?
It's a tribute to the New Horizon team's technical skill that they managed to resolve Pluto and Charon at all in that picture.
I believe tomorrow we get a higher-resolution Charon and a similar resolution picture of Pluto.
Their center of gravity, say about here: o O---------------o ^ Pluto and Charon do it as well, even Earth and Moon to a small degree.
I'd love to see a simulation of particles moving around the Pluto Charon system.
Today I learn that Pluto and Charon are tidally locked to each other.
And then we discover that Charon is in fact a mass relay...
Tidal forces do serve as an energy source to drive other geological mechanisms, however they stated in the press conference that Charon is to small to do this, so we need to find another mechanism for how Pluto is still active.
The most notable of these is the moon, but in terms of tangible orbital disruption, other planets (particularly Jupiter, which is massive enough to pull the Sun-Jupiter barycenter outside the sun, meaning that Jupiter orbits the sun much in the same way that Charon orbits Pluto) can and do disturb the orbits of their fellow planets, often pulling them whichever way.
Quote examples
Regarding the pun, don't forget that the dead did pay a "toll" in ancient Greek religion/mythology (to Charon, the ferryman of Hades).
Interesting to hear that he pronounced Charon as "Sharon".
When a co-worker saw the picture I posted on hipchat of Charon, he said "so what, looks just like our moon." Thankfully he was chewed out by another science fan in the channel, but a sad number of people care less about this achievement than about the latest sports team win.
Proper noun examples
As you note, the mass of the Earth-Moon system is much greater than the mass of the Pluto-Charon system.
So it's going to be exciting to images from the flyby of both Pluto and Charon.
Charon seems to be also active, perhaps this suggests they split not so long ago?
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use charon in a sentence?
It's very surprising to me how much (apparent) recent geologic activity there is on both pluto and charon.
What does charon mean?
(Greek mythology) The ferryman of Hades, who rowed the shades of the dead across the river Styx.
What part of speech is charon?
charon is commonly used as noun.