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 • Mar. 9, 2026

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

From Scientific American • Feb. 11, 2023

It’s actually a moonlet of Didymos, Greek for twin, a fast-spinning asteroid five times bigger that flung off the material that formed the junior partner.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2022

But a moonlet, like Dimorphos, orbits its larger twin at a stately pace.

From Washington Post • Sep. 26, 2022

A detachment of the Cadre would land on Charon, Planet Pluto's moonlet, and fuse and seal sections of the moonlet's surface and subsurface same as on Pluto.

From The Universe — or Nothing by Moldeven, Meyer