moonlet

American  

[moon-lit] / ˈmun lɪt /

noun

1. a small natural or artificial satellite, as one of a number of natural satellites thought to be embedded in the ring system of Saturn.

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Etymology

Origin of moonlet

First recorded in 1825–35; moon + -let

Example Sentences

New research shows the spacecraft's deliberate collision with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in September 2022 also slightly changed the path of the entire asteroid system around the Sun.

From Science Daily

The experiment pushed the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos into a smaller, faster route around its sibling Didymos -- and according to new research out Friday, it also pushed the pair into a slightly different orbit around the Sun.

From Barron's

The team derived the age of Selam, a "moonlet" circling the small asteroid Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, based only on dynamics, or how the pair moves in space.

From Science Daily

These particles can't reform a moonlet if they are close to the planet and within the Roche limit, because tidal forces from the parent body constantly rip them apart and prevent them from clumping, according to the researchers.

From Scientific American

"We've got to find some way of stopping that moonlet forming that far out," Dhillon said.

From Scientific American