elongation

American  

[ih-lawng-gey-shuhn, ih-long-, ee-lawng-, ee-long-] / ɪ lɔŋˈgeɪ ʃən, ɪ lɒŋ-, ˌi lɔŋ-, ˌi lɒŋ- /

noun

1. the act of elongating or the state of being elongated.

2. something that is elongated.

3. Astronomy. the angular distance, measured from the earth, between a planet or the moon and the sun or between a satellite and the planet about which it revolves.

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elongation Scientific  

/ ĭ-lông′gā′shən /

1. The angular distance between two celestial bodies as seen from a third. Elongation is normally conceived as a measure of the angle formed between the Sun and a celestial body, such as a planet or the Moon, with Earth at the vertex. In terms of the celestial sphere, elongation is the distance between the Sun and the body as measured in degrees of celestial longitude. When the body lies on a direct line drawn from Earth to or through the Sun, its elongation is 0° and it is said to be in conjunction. It is said to be in quadrature when it lies at a right angle to a line between the Earth and Sun with an elongation of 90°, and it is in opposition when it lies on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun with an elongation of 180°. Superior planets (those that are farther from the Sun than Earth) have a full range of elongations between 0° and 180°. Inferior planets (those closer to the Sun than Earth) have limited elongations due to their smaller orbits; Venus has a greatest elongation of about 48°, while Mercury's greatest elongation is about 28°.

2. See more at conjunction opposition

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Other Word Forms

• nonelongation noun

Etymology

Origin of elongation

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin ēlongātiōn- (stem of ēlongātiō ), equivalent to ēlongāt ( us ) ( elongate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

"Definitely the elongation of the vowels like 'cheeeeese'!"

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2024

To explore if the elongation of RNA, achieved by linking individual RNA units together, is regulated allosterically, the researchers altered the structure of the R3C ligase.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

That gradual elongation happened because workers were moving farther from their workplaces, often forced to the margins by the rising cost of housing in job centers.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 12, 2023

The research team found that SCFAs such as acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric acids induce dendrite elongation by inhibiting an enzyme called histone deacetylase.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

With the elongation of the body, the dorsal shield begins to project posteriorly as a shell-fold, which may increase in size to envelop more or less of the body or may disappear altogether.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various