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Kiss-and-capture: The dance of Pluto and Charon

Kiss-and-capture: The dance of Pluto and Charon

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

February 5, 202559m 55s

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Show Notes

How did Pluto meet its largest moon, Charon? Many have speculated that Charon formed in an impact, but traditional models of planetary formation have struggled to explain many of the quirks of this system. This week, Adeene Denton, a research scientist at the University of Arizona, shares her team's new paper that suggests a "kiss-and-capture" may solve this mystery. Then Bruce Betts, The Planetary Society's chief scientist, discusses contact binaries in our Solar System and shares a new Random Space Fact in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-pluto-kiss-and-capture

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Topics

spacesciencetechnologyengineeringastronomyplanetaryNASAPluto