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Glite Dictionary
⛪ Church council 🌙 Celestial period
synodical

synodical

9.9
Relating to the time between similar positions of the Moon and planets
  • adjective
  • /sɪˈnɒdɪkəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sinódico
  • Astronomers use synodical periods to predict planetary alignments.

Examples

  • The synodical cycle of Venus helps determine when it will appear brightest in the sky.

  • The synodical cycle of the moon affects tides.

  • The synodical month is the time it takes the Moon to return to the same phase.

  • Many astronomers study synodical periods for their research.

  • The synodical cycle of the moon is approximately 29.5 days.

  • Astronomers calculated the synodical period of Mars to predict its visibility.

  • The study focused on the synodical alignment of Jupiter and Saturn.

Synonyms

synodal
vssynodical
  • Specialized
9.9

About the time a moon or planet takes to return to the same position

describes intervals measured by the repeating alignment cycle rather than each single alignment
synodic
vssynodical
  • Specialized
9.9

The time between two similar phases of a moon or planet as seen from Earth

focuses on time between similar alignments of different bodies rather than single-body phases

Surface Forms

synodical positive

Morphology

synodical = synodic (semi-transparent) = synod + ic + al

The form is regularly derived (synod -> synodic -> synodical), but the astronomical sense ('synodic period') is specialized and may not be transparent to general learners.

Etymology

Synodical used in astronomy comes from the Greek synodos 'a meeting'. It means the times when planets or the Moon 'meet' or return to the same position in the sky, so a synodical period is the time between those 'meetings', like from one full Moon to the next.