Here’s how it works. Charon is the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto, but calling it a moon is really a misnomer; Pluto and Charon actually form a binary system. Whereas a moon usually ...

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

While Charon is currently listed as a satellite or moon by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), consideration is being given to it perhaps being classified as a dwarf planet in its own right, ...

Experts postulated a new theory about the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. The planet had five moons among which Charon was the largest and had a diameter of about 754 miles, just over half ...

According to a recent YouGov poll, 35% of Americans think Pluto is not a planet. But they are all wrong—kind of. To get to ...

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.

such as the dwarf planets Eris and Orcus and their respective moons Dysnomia and Vanth. “I’d really like to determine how the initial Pluto-Charon impact can influence whether and how Pluto ...

The differences don’t end there—the researchers also argue that Pluto and Charon are less likely to behave like fluid during a collision. The dwarf planet and its moon “are quite small, so ...

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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 Pluto and ...