The debate over Pluto’s planetary status has been ongoing since its reclassification as a “dwarf planet” in 2006 by the ...

Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is nearly as massive as Pluto; they are often called a "double planet" (though neither meets the criteria for a planet). Charon could potentially keep Pluto warm, if the ...

New research showcasing the dramatic topography of Pluto and its moon Charon should help scientists better guess what forces have shaped them. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past the two bodies ...

This is Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, in the most beautiful, detailed, highest-resolution single frame image we’ll be downlinking from the flyby this month. And it is amazing. This image was ...

Pluto’s moon Charon on June 18, 2015, shown as the camera sees it (left) and processed to bring out details (right). At the time, New Horizons was 31.5 million km away from Charon.

"These images show that Pluto and Charon are truly complex worlds. There's a whole lot going on here," said New Horizons co-investigator Will Grundy, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Geek Life: Fun stories, memes, humor and other random items at the intersection of tech, science, business and culture. SEE MORE Photo via NASA New Horizons/ Pluto and Charon from July 8/NASA ...

Charon most likely formed when an impact on Pluto blew some or most of its crust into space, which went into orbit and coalesced to form Charon (and perhaps the smaller moons, too).

Pluto's intrigue seemed only to increase, even after we launched New Horizons, when two more moons were discovered in addition to its known large moon Charon. And later two more were discovered!

An curved arrow pointing right. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took us to Pluto for the first time in July 2015. Scientists are astonished by the incredible features they've observed on the dwarf ...

(Credit: NASA/JHU-APL/SWRI/K. Singer) When New Horizons flew past Pluto and its moon Charon in 2015, it took a lot of pictures. From studying those images, scientists have recently realized that while ...