barycenter
Shared gravitational pivot
The barycenter is the center of mass of a system of bodies—the point around which they mutually orbit.
The Earth and Moon orbit their common barycenter, which lies inside Earth but not at its center.
In the solar system, the barycenter of the Sun and Jupiter lies just outside the Sun's surface.
The term appears in physics and astronomy when tracking how multiple bodies influence each other's motion.
Quantity of matter
- celestialOf the sky above
- binaryConsisting of two parts
- starsLuminous celestial bodies
- planetsStar-orbiting celestial bodies
orbit · system · galactic · dynamics · solar · lunar · cosmic · comet
Mean position of figure
- pointExact location or meaning
- axisRotation reference line
- pivotPoint of rotation
- locusParticular position or place
coordinate · triangle · polygon · weighted · mean · median · calculation · vertex
Quantity of matter
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- equilibriumState of balance
- forceStrength or compulsion
- accelerationRate velocity changes
inertia · momentum · dynamics · mechanics · Newtonian · calculation · coordinate · weighted
mass
Quantity of matter
planets · orbit · system · galactic · dynamics · solar · lunar · cosmic · comet · satellite
centroid
Mean position of figure
locus · coordinate · triangle · polygon · weighted · mean · median · calculation · vertex · intersection
mass
Quantity of matter
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- equilibriumState of balance
- forceStrength or compulsion
acceleration · inertia · momentum · dynamics · mechanics · Newtonian · calculation · coordinate · weighted · distribution