Editing Édouard Roche (section)

== Biography ==
He was born in [[Montpellier]], and studied at the [[University of Montpellier]], receiving his D.Sc. in 1844 and later becoming a professor at the same institution, where he served in the Faculté des Sciences starting in 1849.<ref name=brush1996/> Roche made a mathematical study of [[Pierre-Simon Laplace|Laplace's]] [[nebular hypothesis]] and presented his results in a series of papers to the Academy of Montpellier from his appointment until 1877. The most important were on [[comets]] (1860) and the nebular hypothesis itself (1873). Roche's studies examined the effects of strong gravitational fields upon swarms of tiny particles.

He is perhaps most famous for his theory that the [[planetary ring]]s of [[Saturn]] were formed when a large icy [[Natural satellite|moon]] came too close to Saturn and was pulled apart by [[gravitation]]al forces. He described a method of calculating the distance at which an object held together only by gravity would break up due to [[tidal force]]s; this distance became known as the Roche limit.

His other best known works also involved orbital mechanics. The Roche sphere describes the limits at which an object which is in orbit around two other objects will be captured by one or the other, and the Roche lobe approximates the gravitational sphere of influence of one [[astronomical body]] in the face of perturbations from another heavier body around which it [[orbit]]s.

Roche's works were not appreciated during his lifetime. In 1883 he was proposed for full membership to the [[French Academy of Sciences]]. However, he only received a single vote out of 56. He died of pneumonia two days later, unaware that his membership had been declined.<ref name=Tassoul_2014/>