)
Elongations of superior and inferior planet
elongation
(ee-long-gay -shŏn) The angular distance between the Sun and a planet, i.e. the angle Sun–Earth–planet, measured from 0° to 180° east or west of the Sun. It is also the angular distance between a planet and one of its satellites, i.e. the angle planet–Earth–satellite, measured from 0° east or west of the planet. An elongation of 0° is called conjunction, one of 180° is opposition, and one of 90° is quadrature (see illustration). When an inferior planet follows the Sun in its daily motion, appearing east of the Sun in the evening, it is in eastern elongation. When it precedes the Sun, appearing west of the Sun in the morning, it is in western elongation. The inferior planets, which cannot come to quadrature, reach positions of greatest elongation (GE). The GE for both eastern and western elongation varies from 18° to 28° (Mercury) and from 45° to 47° (Venus).
Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006
Elongation
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)Elongation, in astrological parlance, is the maximum angular distance that Mercury and Venus travel from the Sun. Because the orbits of Mercury and Venus lie between Earth and the Sun, these two planets appear to always travel with the Sun, so that, from the position of Earth, Mercury is always within 28° of the Sun, and Venus always within 46°. Elongation also refers to the maximum apparent distance that a satellite travels from the body around which it moves (e.g., the maximum distance the Moon travels from Earth).
The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.
elongation
[ē‚loŋ′gā·shən] (astronomy)
The difference between the celestial longitude of the moon or a planet, as measured from the earth, and that of the sun.
(communications)
The extension of the envelope of a signal due to delayed arrival of multipath components.
(mechanics)
The fractional increase in a material's length due to stress in tension or to thermal expansion.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
strain
A change in the form or shape of a body or material which is subjected to an external force.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.