Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

aphelion

Pronunciation: /apˈhiːlɪən/

Definition of aphelion

noun (plural aphelia /-lɪə/)

Astronomy
  • the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun:Mars is at aphelionThe opposite of perihelion.

Origin:

mid 17th century: alteration of modern Latin aphelium (by substitution of the Greek inflection -on), from Greek aph' hēlion 'from the sun'

aphelion in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of aphelion in the US English dictionary