Images/videos may be used by the media and the public for educational and informational purposes only
Image

Courtesy of SwRI/Adeene Denton/Robert Melikyan
Caption
Using advanced models, SwRI led new research that indicates that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. In the resulting “kiss-and-capture” regime, Pluto and Charon collide and stick together in the shape of a snowman. They rotate as one body until Pluto pushes Charon out into a stable orbit.