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 ...

Amanda Kooser covers the quirky side of science and space. Pluto has five moons, but Charon stands out from the rest. Charon is half the size of Pluto, “making it the largest known moon relative ...

"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 ...

Pluto, considered the ninth planet in our solar system until it was reclassified to dwarf planet status in 2006, is thought to have undergone an impact that broke off the largest of its five moons ...

Pluto, considered the ninth planet in our solar system until it was reclassified to dwarf planet status in 2006, is thought to have undergone an impact that broke off the largest of its five moons, ...

New research from the University of Arizona (U of A) claims that Pluto may not have been created with a bang, but with a kiss. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, looks at how Pluto and its ...

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 ...

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 ...

Some 4.5 billion years ago, the dwarf planet Pluto was suddenly joined by a companion. For a brief period – perhaps only hours – they danced as if arm in arm before gently separating ...

For billions of years, Pluto and its largest moon Charon have been facing each other in a mutual tidal lock. Since it’s about half the size of Pluto, the moon and its planet are sometimes ...

Now, a new theory may provide an answer. A paper published in Nature Geoscience on Monday explores how Pluto's largest moon, Charon, might have come to orbit the dwarf planet. According to the new ...

In 1928, the amateur astronomer was offered a job at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where he discovered Pluto. In 1934, he married Patricia Edson. They had two children, Annette and Alden.