apastron
Americannoun
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The point at which an object, such as a planet or comet, is farthest from the center of mass of the star it is orbiting.
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Compare periastron
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of apastron
< New Latin < Greek ap- ap- 2 + ástron star, constellation; on the model of apogee
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They wouldn't live to be crushed by disappointment when the Sky Fire receded as Beta went into the long swing toward apastron.
From Oomphel in the Sky by Piper, H. Beam
These orbs complete a revolution in 180 years, and when in apastron are seventeen times more remote from each other than when at periastron.
From The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' by Orchard, Thomas Nathaniel
The pair travel in an orbit from fourteen to forty-two times the radius of the Earth’s orbit; so that when at apastron they are three times as distant from each other as when at periastron.
From The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' by Orchard, Thomas Nathaniel
The eccentricity of their orbit approaches in form that of Faye’s comet, which travels round the Sun; consequently the stars, when at apastron, are twice their periastron distance.
From The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' by Orchard, Thomas Nathaniel
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.
