The point near a massive body such as a planet or star, inside of which the tidal forces acting on an orbiting body exceed the gravitational force holding that body together. The location of the Roche limit depends on the size of the orbiting body. A to F | G to L | M to R | S to Z
The minimum distance at which an orbiting satellite is not destroyed by tidal forces.
Often called the tidal stability limit, the Roche limit gives the distance from a planet at which the tidal force, due to the planet, between adjacent objects exceeds their mutual attraction. Objects within this limit are unlikely to accumulate into larger objects. The rings of Saturn occupy the region within Saturn's Roche limit.
The smallest distance from a planet or other body at which purely gravitational forces can hold together a satellite or secondary body of the same mean density as the primary. At less than this distance the tidal forces of the larger object would break apart the smaller object.
minimum distance of a stable satellite from a planet. If the satellite is located at smaller distances, the tidal force produced by the planet tends to disrupt it.
The closest a fluid body can orbit to its parent planet without being pulled apart by tidal forces.
The Roche Limit was first described by Edouard Roche in 1848. It is the closest distance a body can come to a planet without being pulled apart by the planet's tidal (gravity) force. As a result, large moons cannot survive inside the Roche Limit. On July 7, 1992, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart into 21 pieces due to tidal forces when it passed within Jupiter's Roche Limit; on the subsequent pass, each of the comet's pieces collided with Jupiter. If a planet and a moon have identical densities, then the Roche Limit is 2.446 times the radius of the planet. The Roche Limits for the ringed planets are: Jupiter - 175,000 km (108,000 miles) Saturn - 147,000 km ( 92,000 miles) Uranus - 62,000 km ( 39,000 miles) Neptune - 59,000 km ( 37,000 miles) This limit represents the rough boundary between each planet's ring system and its innermost moons.
The smallest distance at which two celestial bodies can remain in a stable orbit around each other without one of them being torn apart by tidal forces. The distance depends on the densities of the two bodies and their orbit around each other.
The Roche limit is the distance from the center of a star or other object at which a large orbiting object will break up due to tidal (gravitational) forces. Large planets or moons cannot orbit within the Roche limit; they break up. The Roche Limit was first realized by Edouard Roche in 1848. If a planet and its moon have identical densities, then the Roche Limit is 2.446 times the radius of that planet.
The Roche limit, sometimes referred to as the Roche radius, is the distance within which a celestial body held together only by its own gravity will disintegrate due to a second celestial body's tidal forces exceeding the first body's gravitational self-attraction. Inside the Roche limit, orbiting material will tend to disperse and form rings, while outside the limit, material will tend to coalesce. The term is named after Édouard Roche, the French astronomer who first calculated this theoretical limit in 1848.