aphelion
Americannoun
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aphelia
plural
noun
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The point at which an orbiting body, such as a planet or comet, is farthest away from the Sun.
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Compare apogee perihelion
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Etymology
Origin of aphelion
1650–60; Hellenized form of New Latin aphēlium < Greek *aphḗlion ( diástēma ) off-sun (distance), neuter of *aphḗlios (adj.), equivalent to ap- ap- 2 + hḗli ( os ) sun + -os adj. suffix. See apogee
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Example Sentences
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The exact distances of Earth’s perihelion and aphelion change a bit from year to year because of the gravitational influence of the other planets, as well as that of the moon.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 30, 2023
Earth reaches aphelion July 3, the most distant spot on its imperfect, annual orbit around the sun.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2017
Satellites circling Mars have seen aphelion clouds sitting close to the surface at night, then rising 20 kilometers up in the afternoon.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 22, 2017
What is the period of revolution for a comet with aphelion at 5 AU and perihelion at the orbit of Earth?
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
At perihelion it penetrates within the orbit of Mercury; it considerably transcends at aphelion the farthest excursion of Pallas.
From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Agnes M. (Agnes Mary) Clerke
Their orbits have ever since been ellipses with their aphelia in groups corresponding to the distances of the planets concerned.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by David Peck Todd
The extremes of temperature at perihelia and aphelia to which comets are subjected did not bother him particularly.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by David Peck Todd
We find, as a matter of fact, that several periodic comets either pass near Jupiter or have their aphelia in the neighbourhood of the orbit of Jupiter.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7 "Columbus" to "Condottiere" by Various
The two last-named comets would likewise seem to have a period of revolution not exceeding five or six years, and their aphelia are in the vicinity of Jupiter's orbit.
From COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 by Alexander von Humboldt
It is well known that those of moderately short periods are, for a reason already explained, connected with the larger planets in such a way that the cometary aphelia fall near some planetary orbit.
From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Agnes M. (Agnes Mary) Clerke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
