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Pluto may have captured its moon Charon

Smithsonian Magazine on MSN · 13h

A Novel ‘Kiss and Capture’ Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests

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

techexplorist · 1d

Pluto ‘kissed’ its moon and captured it in orbit

Billions of years ago, two icy worlds—Pluto and Chron—collided in the farthest reaches of our solar system. But rather than smashing into pieces, Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, briefly spun together like a celestial snowman before separating, forever linked in orbit.

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.

12m

The story behind Pluto's huge moon bodes well for distant ocean worlds

Since New Horizons' close encounter with Pluto 10 years ago, experts have come to think of the dwarf planet as much more ...

Here’s how Pluto and Charon became a bizarre double planet

For decades, astronomers suspected that Pluto and Charon formed through a process similar to Earth and the Moon. This theory, ...

3d

Image of the week: Pluto and Charon's fascinating embrace

New simulations propose a 'Kiss and Capture' scenario to explain the evolution of the dwarf planet and its main moon.

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