Astronomy View all facts Glossary Help |
physical phenomena > process > physical process > motion > axis motion > precession > apsidal motion |
apsidal motion comparison table |
Subject | is an instance of | is a kind of | has definition |
---|---|---|---|
precession | axis motion | The uniformly progressing motion of the pole of rotation of a freely rotating body undergoing torque from external gravitational forces. In the case of the Earth, the component of precession caused by the Sun and Moon acting on the Earth's equatorial bulge is called lunisolar precession; the component caused by the action of the planets is called planetary precession. The sum of lunisolar and planetary precession is called general precession. (See nutation.) | |
apsidal motion | precession | Rotation of the line of apsides in the plane of the orbit; (in a binary) precession of the line of apsides due to mutual tidal distortion. |
Next precession: general precession Up: precession Previous precession: vector translation