mean distance

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the arithmetic mean of the greatest and least distances of a planet from the sun, used in stating the size of an orbit; the semimajor axis.

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mean distance British  

noun

1. the average of the greatest and least distances of a celestial body from its primary

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Etymology

Origin of mean distance

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mean distance

By feel, I mean distance control: the ability to look at a putt, make a few practice strokes, and then put the right amount of hit on it.

From Golf Digest ● Feb. 8, 2018

The authority, in its defense, points out that the current rate remains a staggering improvement from 1981, when the mean distance between failures was 7,000 miles.

From New York Times ● May 22, 2017

Ms. Hakim said the reliability of trains, known as mean distance between failure, had dropped because it had reached an artificially high level when a large order of new subway cars arrived in 2010.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2017

Use the result from the previous exercise to determine the time required for Venus to orbit the Sun if its mean distance is 108 million kilometers.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

Upon his return there was now enough information for the French astronomer Joseph Lalande to calculate that the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun was a little over 150 million kilometers.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson