Impact Crater Databases for Pluto and Charon, Version 2

Abstract

Abstract Pluto and Charon are the farthest bodies from the Sun that have been visited by spacecraft where more than several dozen impact craters can be accurately identified and measured. These craters form a critical record of outer solar system impactors in the trans-Neptunian environment, so an accurate census of them is important for numerous dynamical applications seeking to understand the Kuiper Belt and its evolution. In 2017, a crater database was published based on several different researchers mapping on various image products from the New Horizons mission. To date, that remains the only work that has tried to provide a complete census of the craters on Pluto and Charon. Meanwhile, Singer et al. mapped on different, more final image products, while Robbins & Singer worked to reconcile their crater populations, demonstrate general agreement, and lay out issues with the previous work from 2017. However, neither attempted to make complete databases of Pluto's or Charon's craters. To come full circle, we present a short report on a revised crater database for both Pluto and Charon that incorporates revised interpretations of geologic features on both bodies; this work supersedes our other Pluto and Charon crater database work.