Vader (crater)

{{Short description|Crater on Charon}}

{{Infobox feature on celestial object

|name = Vader

|image = Ripley Crater in Color.jpg

|caption = Photo of Charon centered on Ripley Crater. Nostromo Chasma crosses Ripley vertically. Organa Crater is at 9:00, and Vader is the dark crater at 12:00

|coordinates = {{coord|55|N|15|W|globe:charon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

|coordinates_footnotes =

|location = Charon

|type = Impact crater

|diameter =

|depth =

|naming = Unofficial

|discoverer = New Horizons

|eponym = Darth Vader

}}

Vader is the unofficial name given to a dark crater on Pluto's largest moon Charon. The floor of Vader is darker than the surrounding terrain, covered in the same reddish-brown dark material that covers Mordor Macula on Charon's north pole. Though Charon's surface trends darker with increasing latitude, some craters, such as Vader, interrupt this trend. The crater was discovered by NASA's New Horizons space probe on its way by Pluto. It is named after the character Darth Vader from the Star Wars media franchise; the name has yet to be officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).