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
The smallest distance at which a natural satellite can orbit a celestial body without being torn apart by the larger body's gravitational force. The distance depends on the densities of the two bodies and the orbit of the satellite. Minimum distance at which a large natural satellite can orbit its primary body without being torn apart by tidal forces. If satellite and primary are of similar composition, the theoretical limit is about 2.5 times the radius of the larger body. The rings of Saturn, for example, lie inside Saturn's Roche limit and may be the debris of a demolished moon. The limit was first calculated by the French astronomer Édouard Roche (1820-53) in 1850