periapsis

From OrbiterWiki
Revision as of 14:58, 3 August 2005 by Kmweber (talk | contribs) (Original author put "apoapsis" when he meant "periapsis")
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

For an object orbiting a celestial body, the periapsis' is the point in the orbit which is closest to that body.

Periapsis and apoapsis are generic terms. The prefixes "peri-" and "apo-" are commonly applied to the Greek or Roman name of the particlyar body being orbited.

As an example, consider perigee and apogee for Earth, perijove and apojove for Jupiter, periselene and aposelene or perilune and apolune for lunar orbit, perichron and apochron for Saturn, perihelion and apohelion for the Sun, etc.