Is true love written in the stars?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Ask Pluto and its dearest lover – er largest moon – Charon. They’re what the kids call a binary system. That means they orbit EACH OTHER. How?
Adeene Denton from the University of Arizona says it was a kiss-and-capture collision!
According to simulations, Pluto and Charon’s bodies made brief contact before re-separating into a gravitational duo. One kiss was all it took to make a lasting connection!
And the collision was minimally destructive to both.
Now, Pluto does its thing – ruling the underworld – and Charon ferries in the souls of the dead!
Talk about a match made in heaven. Or the cold void of space.
Reference: Denton, C. A., Asphaug, E., Emsenhuber, A., & Melikyan, R. (2025). Capture of an ancient Charon around Pluto. Nature Geoscience, 18(1), 37–43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01612-0