shepherd moon

noun

A small moon that orbits near the outer edges of a planetary ring or within gaps in the ring. The edge of the ring remains sharply defined owing to the gravity of shepherd moons.

Similar
shepherd satellite
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounshepherd moon (plural shepherd moons)

plural shepherd moons

  1. A small moon that orbits near the outer edges of a planetary ring or within gaps in the ring. The edge of the ring remains sharply defined owing to the gravity of shepherd moons.

    Synonyms: shepherd satellite

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small moon that orbits near the outer edges of a planetary ring or within gaps in the ring. The edge of the ring remains sharply defined owing to the gravity of shepherd moons.

Similar
shepherd satellite

Translations

Catalan satèl·lit pastor
  • satèl·lit pastormoon orbiting near the edge of a ring
Finnish paimenkuu
  • paimenkuumoon orbiting near the edge of a ring
French satellite berger
  • satellite bergermoon orbiting near the edge of a ring
German Schäfermond
  • Schäfermondmoon orbiting near the edge of a ring
Cite this entry
APA

shepherd moon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherd%20moon

MLA

“shepherd moon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherd%20moon. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shepherd moon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherd%20moon.

Source: shepherd moon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.