celestial mechanics

American  

noun

1. the branch of astronomy that deals with the application of the laws of dynamics and Newton's law of gravitation to the motions of heavenly bodies.

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celestial mechanics British  

noun

1. the study of the motion of celestial bodies under the influence of gravitational fields

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celestial mechanics Scientific  

1. The science of the motion of celestial bodies under the influence of gravitational forces.

2. See more at Kepler's laws of planetary motion relativity

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Etymology

Origin of celestial mechanics

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Venus continues to hang out throughout November and into the holidays, but Saturn — thanks to celestial mechanics — seems to duck into the sun’s glare after Thanksgiving.

From Washington Post • Oct. 29, 2016

Nash transformed economics, Nasar wrote, just as “Mendel’s ideas of genetic transmission, Darwin’s model of natural selection, and Newton’s celestial mechanics reshaped biology and physics in their day.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2015

After all, we once thought celestial mechanics needed a divine watchmaker, as did the whole of biology.

From New York Times • Jan. 8, 2015

Dynamics, in its original formulation, arises from celestial mechanics.

From Slate • Aug. 13, 2014

Herriott will lecture for hours on celestial mechanics and propound some fool theory about a hidden body, which doesn't exist, and its possible influence, which would be nil, on the inclination of the earth's axis.

From The Solar Magnet by Meek, S. P. (Sterner St. Paul)