Definition of libration in English:
libration
noun lʌɪˈbreɪʃ(ə)nlaɪˈbreɪʃən
Astronomy An apparent or real oscillation of the moon, by which parts near the edge of the disc that are often not visible from the earth sometimes come into view.
Example sentencesExamples
- Lagrange won the Académie des Sciences Prize in 1764 for a work on the libration of the Moon.
- The topic was on the libration of the Moon, that is the motion of the Moon which causes the face that it presents to the Earth to oscillate causing small changes in the position of the lunar features.
- Permanent settlements have been proposed for the Moon and Mars, as well as stable positions in space equidistant from both Earth and Moon called the Lagrangian libration points.
- He discovered the libration of the Moon and this gained him fame which led to his appointment as professor of economics and mathematics at Göttingen in 1751.
- Its space segment will be composed of a group of X-ray telescopes based around one of the libration points or Lagrangian points.
Synonyms
swaying, oscillation, undulation
Derivatives
verb ˈlʌɪbreɪtˈlaɪˌbreɪt
[no object]Astronomy (of the moon) oscillate or seem to oscillate.
the moon seemed to be librating twice as much as expected
Example sentencesExamples
- The comet currently librates around the ‘high’ 13: 15 mean motion resonance with Jupiter.
- Another Lagrangian-loving NASA satellite, known as Genesis, will librate around the Sun-Earth L1 point.
- We have found that critical arguments librate around 0 degrees for several hundred thousand years.
Origin
Early 17th century (denoting an oscillating motion, or equilibrium): from Latin libratio(n-), from the verb librare, from libra 'a balance'.
Definition of libration in US English:
libration
nounlīˈbrāSHənlaɪˈbreɪʃən
Astronomy An apparent or real oscillation of the moon, by which parts near the edge of the disc that are often not visible from the earth sometimes come into view.
Example sentencesExamples
- The topic was on the libration of the Moon, that is the motion of the Moon which causes the face that it presents to the Earth to oscillate causing small changes in the position of the lunar features.
- He discovered the libration of the Moon and this gained him fame which led to his appointment as professor of economics and mathematics at Göttingen in 1751.
- Its space segment will be composed of a group of X-ray telescopes based around one of the libration points or Lagrangian points.
- Permanent settlements have been proposed for the Moon and Mars, as well as stable positions in space equidistant from both Earth and Moon called the Lagrangian libration points.
- Lagrange won the Académie des Sciences Prize in 1764 for a work on the libration of the Moon.
Synonyms
swaying, oscillation, undulation
Origin
Early 17th century (denoting an oscillating motion, or equilibrium): from Latin libratio(n-), from the verb librare, from libra ‘a balance’.