Pluto and Moon Charon: A Cosmic Love Story Written in Ice
Pluto and Charon emerged from a delicate cosmic “kiss” which shaped their existence.
Current scientific consensus suggests that Pluto and Charon formed through a peaceful union rather than a destructive collision.
Scientists previously believed Pluto and Charon originated from a massive collision with Pluto by a large celestial body, resembling the Moon’s formation process around Earth. A recent scientific investigation proposes an alternative concept.
University of Arizona researcher Adeene Denton states that Pluto and Charon consist primarily of ice and rock materials which exhibit distinct behaviors compared to other planetary bodies. The two objects instead of colliding heavily might have experienced a gentle contact which led them to temporarily stick together before separating and continuing their mutual orbit. The “kiss and capture” theory is the term used to describe this concept.
The underground ocean on Pluto may find its origins in this gentle encounter. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft encounter with Pluto in 2015 revealed evidence of subsurface liquid water. The scientific community remained perplexed about the mechanisms that could allow Pluto to maintain temperatures sufficient for liquid water existence. The gravitational interactions during the “kiss and capture” event potentially generated internal heat within Pluto which may have melted portions of its ice.
This scientific breakthrough enables researchers to gain deeper insights into Pluto while exploring how similar icy worlds maintain liquid water reserves.
