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

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 • May 2, 2024

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

From Scientific American • Feb. 11, 2023

Monday’s target: a 525-foot asteroid named Dimorphos, a moonlet of Didymos, a fast-spinning asteroid five times bigger.

From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2022

It’s a moonlet of a larger asteroid called Didymos, which is roughly 2,550 feet wide.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 24, 2022

The mottled moonlet, Charon, orbited the mother planet tightly.

From The Universe — or Nothing by Moldeven, Meyer