Crossword clues for barycenter
The Collaborative International Dictionary
barycenter \barycenter\ n. the point representing the mean position of the matter in a body.
Syn: centroid, center of mass.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context physics English) The center of a mass; often specifically, the point at which the gravitational forces exerted by two objects are equal 2 (context geometry English) The centroid, the geometric center of a plane figure
WordNet
n. (astronomy) the common center of mass around which two or more bodies revolve
Wikipedia
The barycenter (or barycentre; from the Greek βαρύ-ς heavy + κέντρ-ον centre) is the center of mass of two or more bodies that are orbiting each other, or the point around which they both orbit. It is an important concept in fields such as astronomy and astrophysics. The distance from a body's center of mass to the barycenter can be calculated as a simple two-body problem.
In cases where one of the two objects is considerably more massive than the other (and relatively close), the barycenter will typically be located within the more massive object. Rather than appearing to orbit a common center of mass with the smaller body, the larger will simply be seen to "wobble" slightly. This is the case for the Earth–Moon system, where the barycenter is located on average 4,671 km from the Earth's center, well within the planet's radius of 6,378 km. When the two bodies are of similar masses, the barycenter will generally be located between them and both bodies will follow an orbit around it. This is the case for Pluto and Charon, as well as for many binary asteroids and binary stars. It is also the case for Jupiter and the Sun, despite the 1,000-fold difference in mass, due to the relatively large distance between them.
In astronomy, barycentric coordinates are non-rotating coordinates with the origin at the center of mass of two or more bodies. The International Celestial Reference System is a barycentric one, based on the barycenter of the Solar System.
In geometry, the term "barycenter" is synonymous with centroid, the geometric center of a two-dimensional shape.
Usage examples of "barycenter".
Moon merely retaining its previous Solar orbit with a somewhat increased eccentricity that would gradually damp out, eventually leaving the Moon riding secure, square on the former barycenter, the old center of gravity for the Earth-Moon system.
The barycenter was the balance point, the center of gravity for the whole Pluto-Charon system, the point in space around which both planet and satellite rotated.
In the case of more nearly equal masses, for example Pluto-Charon, the barycenter can be a point in open space between the two masses.