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PERIAPSIS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(astronomy) the point in an orbit closest to the body being orbited
Synonyms:
periapsis; point of periapsis
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("periapsis" is a kind of...):
celestial point (a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere))
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "periapsis"):
perigee (periapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is nearest to the Earth)
perihelion (periapsis in solar orbit; the point in the orbit of a planet or comet where it is nearest to the sun)
perijove (periapsis in orbit around Jupiter)
perilune; periselene (periapsis in orbit around the moon)
Holonyms ("periapsis" is a part of...):
celestial orbit; orbit (the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another)
Antonym:
apoapsis ((astronomy) the point in an orbit farthest from the body being orbited)
