How close can a moon get to a planet before gravity tears it apart?

The Roche limit is the distance within which tidal forces from a larger body can overcome a satellite’s self-gravity and disrupt it.

As the moon approaches, the planet’s gravity pulls more strongly on its near side than its far side. This difference stretches the moon. Inside the Roche limit, tidal forces can overwhelm its self-gravity, breaking it into fragments. Those fragments can spread along the orbit and form a ring.

Saturn’s rings are a spectacular example of how tidal disruption can shape planetary systems.

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