sidereal year

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. a division of time equal to the equinoctial year plus 20 minutes, representing the time required for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun, measured with relation to the fixed stars.

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sidereal year British  

noun

1. See year

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Etymology

Origin of sidereal year

First recorded in 1675–85

Example Sentences

It's that time of the sidereal year where we take stock of what's been going on during the last orbit of Earth around the Sun.

From Scientific American

Mrs. B. I must also explain to you what is meant by a sidereal year.

From Project Gutenberg

The length of time that it takes for the earth to arrive at the same position with respect to the stars, which is called a sidereal year, amounts to 365·2563744 days.

From Project Gutenberg

Unfortunately, here on planet Earth, with its decidedly undecimal sidereal year of 365-and-a-quarter days, that is just not going to happen.

From Economist

Their sidereal year was 4�m too long,7 and they kept the ecliptic stationary among the stars, making no allowance for the shifting of the equinoxes.

From Project Gutenberg