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Loading contentThe 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.
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.