Belton Regio

Belton Regio
Feature type	Dark region
Location	Pluto
Coordinates	0°N 90°E / 0°N 90°E
Length	3,000 km
Width	1,000 km
Eponym	Michael J. Belton

Belton Regio (formerly Cthulhu Macula or Cthulhu Regio^[1]^[2]) is a prominent surface feature of the dwarf planet Pluto.^[3] It is an elongated dark region along Pluto's equator, 2,990 km (1,860 mi) long and one of the darkest features on its surface.^[4]

After its discovery in 2015, the feature was provisionally named after the fictional deity Cthulhu from the works of H. P. Lovecraft and others, as it was most popular name in its category in an online poll conducted earlier that year. In 2023, an official name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union honoring astronomer Michael J. Belton.

^ Amanda M. Zangari; et al. (November 2015). "New Horizons disk-integrated approach photometry of Pluto and Charon". AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #47. 47. American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #47, id.210.01: 210.01. Bibcode:2015DPS....4721001Z.
^ Stern, S. A.; Grundy, W.; McKinnon, W. B.; Weaver, H. A.; Young, L. A. (2018). "The Pluto System After New Horizons". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 56 (1): 357–392. arXiv:1712.05669. Bibcode:2018ARA&A..56..357S. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-081817-051935. S2CID 119072504.
^ "Planetary Names". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
^ Feltman, Rachel (8 July 2015). "New map of Pluto reveals a 'whale' and a 'donut'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2015.

[disk-integrated_photometry-1] Amanda M. Zangari; et al. (November 2015). "New Horizons disk-integrated approach photometry of Pluto and Charon". AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #47. 47. American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #47, id.210.01: 210.01. Bibcode:2015DPS....4721001Z.

[Pluto_System_after_New_Horizons-2] Stern, S. A.; Grundy, W.; McKinnon, W. B.; Weaver, H. A.; Young, L. A. (2018). "The Pluto System After New Horizons". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 56 (1): 357–392. arXiv:1712.05669. Bibcode:2018ARA&A..56..357S. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-081817-051935. S2CID 119072504.

[3] "Planetary Names". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

[whale-4] Feltman, Rachel (8 July 2015). "New map of Pluto reveals a 'whale' and a 'donut'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2015.

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