Sharaf Regio

Sharaf Regio (formerly Ala Macula) is the smallest of the "Brass Knuckles", a series of equatorial dark regions on Pluto. It was initially informally named Ala Macula after Ala [àlà] "earth", the chthonic and most important deity of the Igbo people.^[1][2] The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially approved the name Sharaf Regio after Shafika Gil’mievna Sharaf, a Soviet astronomer who developed an analytical theory for Pluto's motion.^[3][4]

Sharaf Regio

The Brass Knuckles chain of equatorial dark regions on Pluto, with Sharaf Regio labeled as "Ala"
Feature type	Regio
Location	Pluto
Coordinates	11.38°S 238.67°E / -11.38; 238.67
Eponym	Shafika Gil’mievna Sharaf