Syzygy: Encyclopedia II - Syzygy - Astronomy

Syzygy - Astronomy

In astronomy, a syzygy (Greek: "yoked together") is a situation where three celestial bodies are positioned along a straight line. The word is usually used in context with the Sun, Earth, and the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition. Solar and lunar eclipses are examples of syzygies, as are transits and occultations. The term is also applied to each instance of new moon or full moon when Sun and Moon are in conjunction or opposition even though they are not exactly on one line with the Earth.

The word is also often loosely used to describe interesting configurations of planets in general. For example, situations when all the planets are on the same side of the sun are sometimes called syzygies, although they are not necessarily found along a straight line.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Astronomy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki