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Planetary sciences

A smashing pair

The likely origin of Pluto and its satellite Charon, like the Earth and Moon, is an impact between two planet-sized bodies. Refined simulations show that there may be two distinct modes for the birth of such twins.

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Melosh, J. A smashing pair. Nature 434, 153–154 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/434153a

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