Roche limit
Noun
Meaning
Roche limit (plural Roche limits)
(astronomy) The closest a satellite can approach its parent body before the gravitational forces holding it together are overwhelmed by tidal forces pulling it apart.
Synonym: Roche radius
Related terms
Examples
Ring systems may form around centaurs when they are tidally disrupted in a close encounter (within 0.4 to 0.8 times the Roche limit ) with a giant planet.
Naiad orbits Neptune well within its fluid Roche limit, and its density is expected to be low enough that it may be very close to its actual Roche limit already.