flyby
noun
the flight of a spacecraft close enough to a celestial object, as a planet, to gather scientific data.
flybys
-
pluralof flyby.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
Aerial flybys revealed somewhere between 700-1,110 structures have been lost since the fires broke out over the weekend, authorities said, with anxious families awaiting news about when they could return.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
After several Earth flybys and a carefully planned encounter with Jupiter, the spacecraft will settle into a 1.5-year orbit with a perihelion of about 1 AU and an inclination of up to 75°.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2025
It needed to make nine flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury before it could reach the right speed to be captured by Mercury's gravity.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2025
Even if one of the flybys is missed, the craft’s orbit around the Sun will repeatedly bring it close to Mercury.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 3, 2024
The scientists ascertained this from data compiled by the Juno spacecraft, which made extremely close flybys of Io in December 2023 and February 2024.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024
