StudyFinds on MSN3d
This is the cosmic love story between Pluto and its moon Charon
Scientists have discovered a new type of planetary collision called “kiss-and-capture,” where Pluto and proto-Charon briefly connected and spun together before separating into their current orbital ...
Space on MSN12d
How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
Pluto may have got romantic to capture its largest moon, colliding and engaging in a passionate but icy 10 hour kiss with ...
Smithsonian Magazine on MSN19d
A Novel ‘Kiss and Capture’ Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests
Researchers accounted for the previously overlooked structures of the dwarf planet and moon in computer simulations of a ...
How Pluto and Charon Were Born From a Giant Collision
Recent simulations link the creation of Pluto and its moon Charon to a colossal impact, akin to the Earth-Moon origin, ...
CNN18d
How did Pluto’s large moon Charon form? With a ‘kiss,’ scientists say
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. For decades ...
Newsweek22d
Space: How Pluto Landed its Moon With a 'Kiss'
Pluto landed its largest moon, Charon, with a 'kiss'—overturning decades of scientific assumptions about how planetary bodies form and evolve. This is the conclusion of a new study, conducted at ...
The New York Times20d
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. By Jonathan O’Callaghan Some 4.5 billion years ...
Science News22d
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 ...
Astronomy22d
Pluto may have ‘kissed’ Charon to capture it
New research suggests that Pluto may have acquired its most massive moon, Charon, through an ancient grazing impact, which the science team refers to as a “kiss and capture”. The study uses ...
Local News 818d
Astronomers have for decades tried to figure out how Pluto captured its largest moon. Now, there’s a new theory
(CNN) — For decades, astronomers have tried to determine how Pluto acquired its unusually large moon Charon, which is about half the size of the dwarf planet. Now, new research suggests that ...
Space.com22d
How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
"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!" New ...
KRDO18d
How did Pluto’s large moon Charon form? With a ‘kiss,’ scientists say
(CNN) — For decades, astronomers have tried to determine how Pluto acquired its unusually large moon Charon, which is about half the size of the dwarf planet. Now, new research suggests that ...