Is there a physics major on here willing to help me with a few things?

bolen said:
This might explain the Roche limit

In essence, yes.

The real "roche limit" is a mathematical construction - imagine your "moon" is a ball of liquid. It has not "structural strength" at all - the only thing holding it together is gravity.

Now, calculate when the differential gravitational forces (tides) are greater than the binding forces (gravity). You can do this for a spinning ball of liquid as well, but it is much more complicated.
 

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