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perihelion

 
Dictionary: per·i·he·li·on   (pĕr'ə-hē'lē-ən, -hēl'yən) pronunciation
perihelion
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perihelion
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n., pl., -he·li·a (-hē'lē-ə, -hēl').
The point nearest the sun in the orbit of a planet or other celestial body.

[Alteration of New Latin perihēlium : PERI- + Greek hēlios, sun.]

perihelial per'i·he'li·al (-hē'lē-əl, -hēl'yəl) adj.

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Wordsmith Words: perihelion
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(per-i-HEE-lee-uhn_, -HEEL-yun)

noun
The point in the orbit of a celestial body that is nearest to the sun.

Etymology
From Greek peri- (around, near) + helios (sun). The point farthest from the sun is called aphelion, from apo- (away)

Usage
"Come Jan. 3, Earth will reach perihelion, its closest approach to the sun at 91,399,727 miles." — Pete Zapadka; That Sun Feels Mighty Close During Summer. False!; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Jul 6, 2007.


Geography Dictionary: perihelion
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The point in the eath's orbit when, at 147.5 million km, it is closest to the sun; on 3 or 4 January.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: perihelion
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perihelion (pĕr'əhē'lēən), point nearest the sun in the orbit of a body about the sun. See apsis.


Cosmic Lexicon: Perihelion
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Point in the elliptical orbit of a comet about the Sun in which it passes closest to the Sun.

 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Cosmic Lexicon. Copyright 1996 Planetary Science Research Discoveries Read more