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 ...

For decades, astronomers have tried to determine how Pluto acquired its unusually large moon Charon, which is about half the size of the dwarf planet. Now, new research suggests that Pluto and Charon ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A composite of enhanced color images of Pluto and Charon taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft ...

Charon, discovered in 1978, is a fascinating celestial body that shares a unique relationship with Pluto. Unlike typical planet-moon systems, Pluto and Charon form a binary system, orbiting a common ...

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 ...

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 ...

In a study published recently in Nature Geoscience, researchers unveiled a new theory explaining the formation of Charon, Pluto's largest moon. The team from the University of Arizona proposed that ...

Holly has a degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester. Her scientific interests include genomics, personalized medicine, and bioethics. Our Moon is surprisingly massive compared ...

The first color movies from NASA’s New Horizons mission show Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, and the complex orbital dance of the two bodies, known as a double planet. “It’s exciting to see Pluto ...

This close up look at Pluto and Charon, taken as part of the mission's latest optical navigation ("OpNav") campaign from Jan. 25-31, 2015, comes from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on ...

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