perigee
the point in its orbit around the earth when the moon or an artificial satellite is nearest the earth
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
perigee
(pe -ră-jee) The point in the orbit of the Moon or an artificial Earth satellite that is nearest the Earth and at which the body's velocity is maximal. Strictly, the distance to the perigee is taken from the Earth's center. The distance to the Moon's perigee varies; on average it is about 363 300 km. Compare apogee.Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006
Perigee
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)Every orbit is elliptical. When a satellite is closest to Earth, it is at its perigee (from the Greek peri, meaning “near,” and gaia, meaning “earth”).
The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.
perigee
[′per·ə‚jē] (astronomy)
The point in the orbit of the moon or other satellite when it is nearest the earth.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
apogee
The farthest point. It often refers to the point at which a commercial satellite is farthest from the earth in its elliptical orbit. The "perigee" is the point closest to the earth.Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Perigee
the point in the orbit of the moon or an artificial satellite that is nearest the earth. Perturbations change the position of the perigee in space. Thus, because of perturbations caused by the sun, the moon’s perigee moves along an orbit in the same direction as the moon, completing a revolution in 8.85 years. The shift in the perigee of an artificial earth satellite chiefly arises from the aspherical nature of the earth, and the magnitude and direction of this motion depend on the inclination of the orbital plane of the satellite to the plane of the earth’s equator. The distance from the perigee to the center of the earth is called the perigee distance.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.