Pluto may have captured its moon Charon

A Novel 'Kiss and Capture' Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests
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 to be.
Pluto and Charon formed through a 'kiss and capture' collision
New study reveals Pluto and Charon’s origin: a unique "kiss and capture" collision redefines how binary systems form.
How did Pluto’s large moon Charon form? With a ‘kiss,’ scientists say
Pluto likely acquired large moon Charon in a “kiss and capture” collision billions of years ago. It may have created a subsurface ocean on the icy dwarf planet.
Pluto May Have Won Its Moon Charon with a ‘Kiss’
Pluto and its largest moon Charon could have come together via a 10-hour “kiss-and-capture” encounter after a grazing collision
'Kiss and capture': Scientists propose new explanation for Charon, Pluto's largest moon
Unlike Earth, where the Moon orbits the planet, Pluto and Charon orbit each other, forming a binary system that is more similar to the Earth-moon system than any other moon in the solar system.
Pluto May Have Captured Its Biggest Moon After an Ancient Dance and Kiss
Charon is large in size relative to Pluto, and is locked in a tight orbit with the dwarf planet. A new simulation suggests how it ended up there.
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.
Sealed With a Kiss: The Unexpected Origin Story of Pluto and Its Moon Charon
Pluto and Charon may have formed through a “kiss and capture” mechanism, with the two icy bodies colliding and becoming temporarily stuck together, spinning in a cosmic dance before separating into two objects that are forever bound in orbit,
Pluto-Charon formation scenario mimics Earth-Moon system
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 of the main body,
Pluto may have captured its moon Charon with a brief kiss
Simulations suggest Pluto and its largest moon may have gently stuck together for a few hours before Charon settled into a stable orbit around the dwarf planet
New "Kiss and Capture" Mechanism Might Explain The Formation Of Pluto And Charon
Our Moon is surprisingly massive compared to Earth, but that ratio is dwarfed if we consider Pluto and Charon. The latter is about 12 percent of the mass of Pluto and technically doesn’t orbit it. The pair of them orbit around a common center of mass outside of Pluto.
The story behind Pluto's huge moon bodes well for distant ocean worlds
Using computer models, researchers studying Pluto and its moon, Charon, have discovered an unforeseen kind of cosmic ...
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Pluto may have captured its moon Charon with a kiss
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 ...
Scientists stunned after learning Pluto and its biggest moon collided billions of years ago: ‘Raises a lot of interesting questions’
They needed some space. New research suggests Pluto may have had a “kiss” with its largest moon billions of years ago in a ...