A Novel 'Kiss and Capture' Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests
The “demoted” dwarf planet Pluto and its largest moon Charon make an unusual pair, and for decades, scientists have been discussing how the binary system—in which each mutually orbits the other—came to be.
How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
"We were definitely surprised by the 'kiss' part of kiss-and-capture. There hasn't really been a kind of impact before where the two bodies only temporarily merge before re-separating!"
Pluto’s Weirdly Big Moon May Have Come From A ‘Kiss And Capture’
Pluto's big moon Charon may have a different origin story than scientists suspected. New research suggests the two bodies engaged in a celestial kiss and tango.
Sealed With a Kiss: The Unexpected Origin Story of Pluto and Its Moon Charon
Pluto and Charon may have formed through a “kiss and capture” mechanism, with the two icy bodies colliding and becoming temporarily stuck together, spinning in a cosmic dance before separating into two objects that are forever bound in orbit,
Pluto May Have Captured Its Biggest Moon After an Ancient Dance and Kiss
Charon is large in size relative to Pluto, and is locked in a tight orbit with the dwarf planet. A new simulation suggests how it ended up there.
New study suggests a completely different origin for Pluto’s largest moon
A new study suggests that the origin of Pluto's largest moon was quite different than our own. Here's what you need to know.
Pluto May Have Won Its Moon Charon with a ‘Kiss’
Pluto and its largest moon Charon could have come together via a 10-hour “kiss-and-capture” encounter after a grazing collision
"Kiss and capture": New theory explains how Pluto captured its biggest moon
Using simulations that took into account parameters like the size and composition of the bodies, along with the strength at which they collided, researchers reported that in the early stages of formation Charon and Pluto came together and orbited as one,
'Kiss and capture': Scientists propose new explanation for Charon, Pluto's largest moon
Unlike Earth, where the Moon orbits the planet, Pluto and Charon orbit each other, forming a binary system that is more similar to the Earth-moon system than any other moon in the solar system.
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