fixed star

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. any of the stars which apparently always retain the same position in respect to one another.

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fixed star British  

noun

1. any of the stars in the Ptolemaic system, all of which were thought to be attached to an outer crystal sphere thus explaining their apparent lack of movement

2. an extremely distant star whose position appears to be almost stationary over a long period of time

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fixed star Scientific  

/ fĭkst /

1. A star or other celestial object so distant from Earth that its position in relation to other stars appears not to change over time. The fixed stars, which include virtually all visible objects beyond the solar system, form the background against which the motions of the Sun, planets, and other bodies of the solar system are measured, and they provide the reference for determining sidereal time. In actuality, no celestial object has a fixed position in relation to any other, and the movement of so-called fixed stars can be measured by precise observation over long periods of time.

2. See more at proper motion

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Etymology

Origin of fixed star

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion…"

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2023

They demonstrate, in a country touched by flux and equivocation and the endless mutability of opinion, that there have always been warriors who embrace principle as a fixed star, not a fashion statement.

From Washington Times • Nov. 11, 2020

Since then, he has become a fixed star in the Premier League firmament, arguably the central figure at United, if not officially the club’s captain then, to some extent, an avatar of its soul.

From New York Times • May 14, 2020

For decades he was, Teachout says, “the fixed star in the crowded sky of American popular culture.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 9, 2015

My friend would then turn to me, quiet and pale, and would say, ‘No, sir; that is impossible: I cannot do it, because it is wrong;’ and would become immutable as a fixed star.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë