pericenter

[ per-uh-sen-ter ]

noun

, Astronomy.

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

Other Words From

• peri·central peri·centric adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pericenter¹

First recorded in 1900–05; peri- + center

Example Sentences

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