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 other—came to be.

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.

“Because Pluto is rotating rapidly prior to the collision, and because Charon lies mostly outside of their corotation zone, it is able to ‘push’ Charon off, and Charon starts to slowly migrate out,” first author Dr. Adeene Denton, a planetary scientist from the University of Arizona, told The Guardian.

Pluto's big moon Charon may have a different origin story than scientists suspected. New research suggests the two bodies engaged in a celestial kiss and tango.

Billions of years ago, in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system, two icy worlds collided. Rather than destroying each other in a cosmic catastrophe, they spun together like a celestial snowman,

This "kiss and capture" mechanism offers a fresh perspective on planetary formation, particularly about Pluto and its largest moon Charon.

Pluto and Charon's origin story has been rewritten by a recent study, revealing they formed from a unique "kiss and capture" collision that defies traditional scientific theories. This discovery, emphasizing the structural integrity of icy worlds,

Pluto and its largest moon Charon could have come together via a 10-hour “kiss-and-capture” encounter after a grazing collision

Until now, it was assumed that Pluto and Charon were formed after a violent collision. However, they may have found each other much more gently.

New models reveal Pluto and Charon may have spent some of their early history locked together in an embrace after a grazing collision.

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.