Pluto and Charon actually form a binary system. 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 ...

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 ...

Scientists have discovered a new type of planetary collision called “kiss-and-capture,” where Pluto and proto-Charon briefly ...

"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!" ...

Pluto and Charon may have formed through a ... and how a similar process could have led to the creation of other binary systems. NASA Pluto Solar System Get the best tech, science, and culture ...

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.

"Charon is HUGE relative to Pluto, to the point where they are actually a binary," Denton explained ... Earth's moon than any other moon in the solar system." For comparison, our moon is just ...

Pluto-Charon formation scenario mimics Earth-Moon system. ScienceDaily . Retrieved January 30, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2025 / 01 / 250107140904.htm ...

before parting again to form the binary pair we can see today. As a result, it is likely that both Pluto and Charon stayed largely intact across the collision, preserving their original ...

The model accurately predicted the binary system’s orbit today, lending further confidence in its reliability. “Because Pluto is rotating rapidly prior to the collision, and because Charon ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. For decades ...