Charon

views updated Jun 27 2018

Charon in Greek mythology, an old man who ferried the souls of the dead across the Rivers Styx and Acheron to Hades; he received a fee of one obol for each soul.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

Charon

views updated May 08 2018

Charon The satellite of Pluto, discovered in 1979, which orbits at a mean distance of 19 405 km, with an orbital period of 6.387 days. Its equatorial radius is 586 km; mass 1.7 × 1021 kg; mean density 1800 kg/m3; surface gravity 0.21 (Earth = 1); albedo 0.375. Some consider Charon and Pluto to comprise a double-planet system.

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY

Charon

views updated May 21 2018

Charon In Greek mythology, boatman of the Lower World who ferried the souls of the dead across the Styx to Hades.

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