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!" ...

“If Charon deposited some of its rock into Pluto, you would be able to see that in gravity data,” said Dr. Denton. “Unfortunately we would need to go back to Pluto to test this.” ...

The origins of this coloration are mysterious since no similar feature is seen on any other icy object in the solar system. One possibility is that Pluto and Charon's long, 248-Earth-year orbit ...

Pluto and Charon hold a unique place in the hearts and ... Other trans-Neptunian worlds can be currently seen in a similar state, called a contact binary, like 486958 Arrokoth.

Charon is half the size of Pluto ... forces could have played a crucial role in shaping the features we see on Pluto's surface today." NASA’s New Horizons mission visited Pluto in 2015 ...

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 ...

Instead, the simulations propose that Pluto and Charon briefly stuck together after colliding and separated into the two planetary bodies we see today. "Most planetary collision scenarios are ...

These bodies separated relatively quickly but remained orbitally linked to create the Pluto/Charon system we see today. This "kiss and capture" process represents a new theory of moon capture and ...