A researcher has used advanced models that indicate that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. Both systems include a moon that is a large fraction of the size ...

Using advanced models, SwRI led new research that indicates that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. In the resulting “kiss-and-capture” regime, Pluto and ...

Discover how a rare "kiss and capture" impact gave rise to the Pluto-Charon binary system, shedding new light on the evolution and motion of icy worlds in the outer solar system. (CREDIT: NASA) ...

Existence of subsurface oceans on the satellites of the giant planets and Trans-Neptunian objects has been predicted for some time. Oceans on icy worlds exert a considerable influence on the dynamics ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. For decades, astronomers have tried to determine how Pluto acquired its unusually large moon Charon, which is about half the size ...

JWST detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon's surface. Hydrogen peroxide suggests ongoing chemical reactions on Charon. Charon's carbon dioxide likely came from below its surface.

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 ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: NASA/Robert Lea ...

New research suggests that Pluto may have acquired its most massive moon, Charon, through an ancient grazing impact, which the science team refers to as a “kiss and capture”. The study uses computer ...

Pluto and Charon’s meet-cute may have started with a kiss. New computer simulations of the dwarf planet and its largest moon suggest that the pair got together in a “kiss-and-capture” collision, where ...

Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, has become central to research on how small worlds form and evolve in the outer Solar System. The pair orbits a shared centre of mass that lies outside Pluto’s surface, a ...

New research suggests that billions of years ago, Pluto may have captured its largest moon, Charon, with a very brief icy "kiss." The theory could explain how the dwarf planet (yeah, we wish Pluto was ...