synodic period

synodic period

The average time between successive conjunctions of two planets as seen from the Earth, or between successive conjunctions of a satellite with the Sun as seen from the satellite's primary. Synodic period, P _s, and sidereal period, P ₁, of an inferior or superior planet are related, respectively, by the equations

1/P _s = 1/P ₁ – 1/P ₂

1/P _s = 1/P ₂ – 1/P ₁

P ₂ is the sidereal period of the Earth, i.e. 365.256 days or 1 year. For a satellite the first equation applies, P ₂ being the sidereal period of the primary.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

Synodic Period

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

A synodic period (from the Greek, meaning “to meet or travel together”) is the period a heavenly body takes to move from one conjunction with the Sun to the next. A synodic month, for example, is the period of time between successive new moons (which is 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes). Because Earth is always moving forward in its orbit, the time it takes the Moon to complete a synodic month differs from the time it takes the Moon to return to its original position relative to the backdrop of the comparatively stationary stars. Synodic cycle refers to the time between the conjunctions of two planets (not to the time between the conjunctions of a planet and the Sun).

The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.

synodic period

[sə′näd·ik ′pir·ē·əd]

(astronomy)

The time period between two successive astronomical conjunctions of the same celestial objects.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

synodic period

The time interval between the identical position of a celestial body in the solar system measured with respect to the sun.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Synodic Period

 

the time interval during which a planet, moving in orbit around the sun, returns to its former position relative to the sun as seen from the earth. For example, the synodic period of Venus is the time between successive identical phases. The synodic period represents the time necessary for the repetition of a planet’s configuration.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.