Precession Of The Equinoxes Definition

noun
The occurrence of the equinoxes earlier in each successive sidereal year because of a slow wobble in the earth's axial spin which shifts the equinoctial points slightly westward along the ecliptic: the wobble is caused by the pull of the sun and moon on the earth's equatorial bulges and makes the poles move around a center point (axis of the ecliptic), taking about 25,800 years to return to the same orientation with the stars.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Precession Of The Equinoxes

Noun

Singular:
precession of the equinoxes
Plural:
precessions of the equinoxes

Precession Of The Equinoxes Sentence Examples

  • Owing to the precession of the equinoxes it is longer than a tropical or sidereal year by 25 minutes and 2.3 seconds.

  • These two motions are defined with greater detail in the articles Precession Of The Equinoxes and Nutation.

  • The precession of the equinoxes is due to the fact that the earth performs a motion of this kind about its centre, and the whole class of such motions has therefore been termed precessional.

  • The laws of motion of the ecliptic and equator are stated in the article Precession Of The Equinoxes.

  • Gravitation was thus shown to be the sole influence governing the movements of planets and satellites; the figure of the rotating earth was successfully explained by its action on the minuter particles of matter; tides and the precession of the equinoxes proved amenable to reasonings based on the same principle; and it satisfactorily accounted as well for some of the chief lunar and planetary inequalities.

More Sentences

Related Articles

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to precession of the equinoxes using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

PPRPRE

Words Ending With

SESXES

Words Starting With P and Ending With S

Starts With P & Ends With SStarts With PR & Ends With SStarts With P & Ends With ES

Word Length

Words Near Precession Of The Equinoxes in the Dictionary