In fact, Charon is so large compared to its host world that it and Pluto actually orbit a common center of mass (or "barycenter") that is outside the surface of Pluto itself. This peculiar mass ...

"We were definitely surprised by the 'kiss' part of kiss-and-capture. There hasn't really been a kind of impact before where the two bodies only temporarily merge before re-separating!" ...

The reason Pluto's relationship with Charon has been challenging to scientists is because of the relatively small difference in size and mass between the two icy bodies. "Charon is HUGE relative ...

Still, many questions remain on how the mass that ultimately became Charon could do so. “Something big hits Pluto, and you get Charon, but like with the Earth-moon system, we don’t fully know ...

Whereas a moon usually orbits a planet, both Pluto and Charon orbit a point in space between them — their common center of mass. The other four moons in the system — Styx, Nix, Kerberos and ...

The reason Pluto's relationship with Charon has been challenging to scientists is because of the relatively small difference in size and mass between the two icy bodies. "Charon is HUGE relative ...

“Pluto and Charon are different — they’re ... Binary systems form when two celestial bodies orbit around a common center of mass, like figure skaters who spin while holding hands, according ...

By contrast, in the ‘strengthless’ capture mechanisms proposed previously, proto-Charon loses much of its mass to Pluto.

When Pluto and Charon hit ... "Eight out of 10 of the largest [Kuiper Belt objects] have a large mass fraction satellite like Charon," Denton said in an email. "This process might have operated ...