MEANING
The point in an orbit nearest to the body being orbited.
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Words that belong together
- periapsis passage
- periapsis altitude
On the page
The craft accelerated toward periapsis.
Its periapsis altitude left little margin for error.
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- periapsis
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Usage notes
Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular periapsis; plural periapsides. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.
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