pericenter

American

[per-uh-sen-ter] / ˈpɛr əˌsɛn tər /

noun

Astronomy.

the point at which a heavenly body orbiting around a primary other than the earth or sun is closest to the primary.

Other Word Forms

pericentral adjective
pericentric adjective

Etymology

Origin of pericenter

First recorded in 1900–05; peri- + center

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.

The plume was present when Europa was near apocenter and was not detected close to its pericenter, in agreement with tidal modeling predictions.

From Science Magazine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023