Researchers accounted for the previously overlooked structures of the dwarf planet and moon in computer simulations of a ...

“Because Pluto is rotating rapidly prior to the collision, and because Charon lies mostly outside of their corotation zone, ...

Pluto likely acquired large moon Charon in a “kiss and capture” collision billions of years ago. It may have created a ...

This "kiss and capture" mechanism offers a fresh perspective on planetary formation, particularly about Pluto and its largest ...

Pluto's big moon Charon may have a different origin story than scientists suspected. New research suggests the two bodies ...

Billions of years ago, in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system, two icy worlds collided. Rather than destroying each ...

Unlike Earth, where the Moon orbits the planet, Pluto and Charon orbit each other, forming a binary system that is more ...

"We were definitely surprised by the 'kiss' part of kiss-and-capture. There hasn't really been a kind of impact before where ...

Pluto and Charon's origin story has been rewritten by a recent study, revealing they formed from a unique "kiss and capture" ...

Learn more about how this new mechanism may have shaped Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

Until now, it was assumed that Pluto and Charon were formed after a violent collision. However, they may have found each ...

Pluto and Charon may have formed through a “kiss and capture” mechanism, with the two icy bodies colliding and becoming ...