Because neither object truly orbits the other, and Charon has 12.2% of the mass of Pluto, it has been argued that Charon should be considered to be part of a binary planet with Pluto.

Nov 3, 2024 · Charon is the largest of Pluto's five moons. At half the size of Pluto, Charon is the largest known satellite relative to its parent body. The same surfaces of Charon and Pluto …

Jan 2, 2026 · Charon was the only known moon of Pluto until 2005, when a team of astronomers led by Hal Weaver, using the Hubble Space Telescope, discovered two comparatively tiny …

Jan 10, 2025 · 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 …

Jan 13, 2025 · Indeed, geophysicists have successfully simulated the formation of Pluto and Charon by smashing computer-modeled molten proto-worlds together. Only about a third of …

Jan 6, 2025 · New research suggests that billions of years ago, Pluto may have captured its largest moon, Charon, with a very brief icy "kiss." The theory could explain how the dwarf …

Jan 6, 2025 · Pluto and its moon Charon may have been briefly locked together in a cosmic “kiss”, before the dwarf planet released the smaller body and recaptured it in its orbit.

Jan 6, 2025 · 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 …

Oct 6, 2025 · Far from being a mere desolate ice ball, the Pluto-Charon system, anchored in the frigid depths of the Kuiper Belt, represents a vibrant, geologically active pair that continues to …

Jun 4, 2025 · Beyond confirming the haze hypothesis, JWST uncovered another, more surreal phenomenon: a one-way atmospheric dance between Pluto and its moon, Charon. Pluto’s …