Orbital mechanics
The Roche Limit
The distance within which a body held together only by its own gravity is pulled apart by the tidal forces of the body it orbits. It is why planetary rings lie close in — where a moon could not survive — and why comets passing too close to a planet break into fragments.
Highlights
- ›Where tides tear a moon apart into rings
Bodies, frames & concepts
Across celestial mechanics
Knowledge connections
- Associated withThe Hill Sphere
- Associated withSaturn
- Associated withTidal Evolution
- Associated withBinary Star Systems
- Associated withRoche Limit (fluid)
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.