Pluto's big moon Charon may have a different origin story than scientists suspected. New research suggests the two bodies engaged in a celestial kiss and tango.

Pluto and its moon Charon's meeting may be traced to a "kiss-and-capture" collision between the two. (CN) — The question of how Pluto captured its moon Charon may have been answered, thanks to new modeling suggesting a “kiss-and-capture” scenario linked the two bodies together.

Simulations suggest Pluto and its largest moon may have gently stuck together for a few hours before Charon settled into a stable orbit around the dwarf planet

New models reveal Pluto and Charon may have spent some of their early history locked together in an embrace after a grazing collision.

Overturning decades of assumptions about how Charon formed, researchers have revealed an entirely new form of cosmic collision.