synodic

American  

[si-nod-ik] / sɪˈnɒd ɪk /

Also synodical

adjective

1. Astronomy. pertaining to a conjunction, or to two successive conjunctions of the same bodies.

2. of or relating to a synod; synodal.

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synodic British  

/ sɪˈnɒdɪk /

adjective

1. relating to or involving a conjunction or two successive conjunctions of the same star, planet, or satellite

   the synodic month

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synodic Scientific  

/ sĭ-nŏd′ĭk /

1. Relating to the conjunction of celestial bodies, especially to the interval between two successive conjunctions of a planet or the Moon with the Sun as viewed from Earth. For example, the new moon comes at the conjunction of the Moon with the Sun; the interval between successive new moons (the time it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth and return to conjunction with the Sun) is the Moon's synodic period, also called a lunar month. Synodic time differs from sidereal time, which is measured in relation to the stars and is generally more appropriate to astronomical observation.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsynodic
  adjective
• nonsynodical
  adjective
• subsynodic
  adjective
• subsynodical
  adjective
• nonsynodically
  adverb
• subsynodically
  adverb
• synodically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of synodic

1555–65; < Late Latin synodicus < Greek synodikós. See synod, -ic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

synodic

This prograde-to-retrograde cycle is known as a synodic period, and Mercury takes roughly 115 days to complete it.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 17, 2023

Venus takes about 584 days to complete one synodic period, while Mars takes about 780 days.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 17, 2023

These rotations are called the synodic cycles of the planets—their cycles relative to the sun.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 14, 2021

Lunar Year, a period of 12 synodic lunar months, being about 354.5 days.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by P. Austin Nuttall

The synodic period is another name for lunation, and its true length is 29 and one-half days, or very accurately 29 d.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by David Peck Todd