Tue Jan 07 12:18:37 UTC 2025: ## “Cosmic Kiss” Theory Explains Formation of Pluto and Charon
**Tucson, Arizona** – A new study published in *Nature Geoscience* proposes a revolutionary theory for the formation of Pluto and its unusually large moon, Charon. Instead of a massive collision, researchers suggest a gentler “kiss and capture” scenario billions of years ago.
Led by NASA postdoctoral fellow Adeene Denton of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the research challenges decades-old models. Previous theories, successful in explaining the Earth-Moon system, assumed that the colliding bodies behaved like fluids. However, this approach failed to account for the structural strength of the rock and ice composing the colder, smaller Pluto-Charon system.
Denton’s team incorporated the strength of icy materials into their simulations. This revealed a previously unknown collision type: a brief “icy kiss” where the bodies momentarily connected before separating, yet remained gravitationally bound. This “kiss and capture” mechanism explains Charon’s surprisingly large size relative to Pluto (nearly half its diameter) and its current orbit.
Senior study author Erik Asphaug highlights the model’s efficiency: “The compelling thing…is that the model parameters that work to capture Charon end up putting it in the right orbit. You get two things right for the price of one.” This groundbreaking discovery provides a new understanding of planetary body formation and evolution, opening new avenues of research into similar celestial systems.
First Piper 