On the Origin of the Pluto System

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to review hypotheses for the origin of the Pluto system in light of observational constraints that have been considerably refined over the 85-year interval between the discovery of Pluto and its exploration by spacecraft. We focus on the giant impact hypothesis currently understood as the likeliest origin for the Pluto-Charon binary, and devote particular attention to new models of planet formation and migration in the outer solar system. We discuss the origins conundrum posed by the system's four small moons. We also elaborate on the implications of these scenarios for the dynamical environment of the early transneptunian disk, the likelihood of finding a Pluto collisional family, and the origin of other binary systems in the Kuiper belt. Finally, we highlight outstanding open issues regarding the origins of the Pluto system and suggest areas of future progress.

To appear in "The Pluto System after New Horizons", University of Arizona Press, Eds. S. A. Stern, J. M. Moore, W. M. Grundy, L.A. Young, and R. P. Binzel

References in corpus (14)

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• Multiple Impact Origin for the Moon
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• Pluto's Haze as a Surface Material
• The Creation of Haumea's Collisional Family
• Ejecta Exchange, Color Evolution in the Pluto System, and Implications for KBOs and Asteroids with Satellites
• Not a simple relationship between Neptune's migration speed and Kuiper belt inclination excitation
• Instabilities in Multi-Planet Circumbinary Systems
• On the Origin of Pluto's Small Satellites by Resonant Transport
• Formation and Collisional Evolution of Kuiper Belt Objects
• The New Horizons and Hubble Space Telescope Search For Rings, Dust, and Debris in the Pluto-Charon System
• On the Origin of Pluto's Minor Moons, Nix and Hydra
• The Fate of Debris in the Pluto-Charon System