Roche limit
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English
Etymology
Named after French astronomer Édouard Roche, who first calculated the limit in 1848.
Noun
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
- 1979, Isaac Asimov, The Road to Infinity, Doubleday, page 145:
- It might be argued, therefore, that Jupiter is so massive and its gravitational field so intense that it swept out the matter within its Roche limit very effectively.
- 1986, William K. Hartmann, Roger J. Phillips, G. Jeffrey Taylor, editors, Origin of the Moon, Lunar and Planetary Institute, page 91:
- The prelunar mass must first be moved outside the Roche limit if accumulation is to occur.
- 2003, Michael A. Seeds, Foundations of Astronomy, Brooks/Cole, page 512:
- If, however, the planet's moon comes inside the Roche limit, the tidal forces overcome its gravity and pull the moon apart.
Related terms
Translations
distance of a satellite from its parent body at which its internal gravitational forces exactly balance the external tidal forces
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