An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A very small natural or artificial satellite orbiting a planet. Saturn has dozens of moonlets often associated with its → planetary rings.

→ moon; → -let.

Local disturbances in the ring structure caused by the gravitational influence of embedded satellites. If the satellite (moonlet) is large enough to clear a gap in the rings, the moonlet wakes become edge waves that precede the satellite on the inner edge and trail the satellite on the outer edge. For smaller satellites, the "gap-less" wakes have been nicknamed propellors (Ellis et al., 2007, Planetary Ring Systems, Springer).

→ moonlet; → wake.