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

This composite image of Pluto, right, and Charon, its largest moon, showcases photos captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI Unlike how scientists ...

Charon and Earth’s moon are both a large fraction of the size ... Rhoden and Denton both began working through the NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Program in September, but Rhoden was not part ...

A NASA postdoctoral researcher at Southwest Research Institute has used advanced models that indicate that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. Both ...

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.

The NASA New Horizons' high-resolution enhanced color view captured a detailed perspective of the rocky, icy moon Charon. - NASA/JHUAPL Instead, Pluto and Charon likely remained much the same ...

“The only comparable system is Earth and its moon.” Charon is about 750 ... Hydra — which are tiny compared with Charon and were glimpsed when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past ...

Scientists widely agree that Earth’s moon formed in a similar way. Pluto and Charon, however, are very different from our Earth and moon. While the moon clearly orbits Earth, Pluto and Charon o ...

As the gatekeepers to the Kuiper Belt, Charon and Pluto are a unique double dwarf planet system. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it ...