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.

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.

Until now, the thinking was that Pluto and Charon formed like Earth and our Moon. New research has flipped that script.

Overturning decades of assumptions about how Charon formed, researchers have revealed an entirely new form of cosmic collision.