Used in a Sentence

orbital

Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for orbital.

Editorial note

Longer periods mean more observations for better accuracy, but you don't need to wait for a complete orbital period to get a decent estimate.

Examples16
Definitions4
Parts of speech2

Quick take

Ellipsis of orbital sander. [A hand-held sander that vibrates in small circles, or orbits.]

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of orbital gathered in one view.

noun

Ellipsis of orbital sander. [A hand-held sander that vibrates in small circles, or orbits.]

adjective

Of or relating to, or forming an orbit (such as the orbit of a moon, planet, or spacecraft).

adjective

(anatomy) Of or relating to the eye socket (eyehole).

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for orbital.

noun

Ellipsis of orbital sander. [A hand-held sander that vibrates in small circles, or orbits.]

adjective

Of or relating to, or forming an orbit (such as the orbit of a moon, planet, or spacecraft).

adjective

(anatomy) Of or relating to the eye socket (eyehole).

noun

(physics) A specification of the energy and probability density of one or more electrons at any point in an atom or molecule, representable as a wave function.

Example sentences

1

Longer periods mean more observations for better accuracy, but you don't need to wait for a complete orbital period to get a decent estimate.

2

This equates to an orbital velocity of 3.07 km/s (1.91 mi/s) or an orbital period of 1,436 minutes, which equates to almost exactly one sidereal day or 23.934461223 hours.

3

Cassini took almost seven years to reach Saturn and the orbital insertion burn was something like ninety minutes!

4

And that is the primary driver of cost and program complexity when it comes to orbital space telescopes.

5

The mass and orbital velocity of jupiter are large enough that this is a non issue.

6

Yup, but as others said it might be better since Kepler doesn't detect all orbital planes.

7

Let's concetrate on constructing robot-powered orbital space stations, and worry about the volcanoes later.

8

So it would be 0.0066 * 1/(fraction of orbital planes) -- but this boost is probably less than an order of magnitude?

9

Anything near orbital speed would be a non-survivable impact, even for hardened electronics.

10

As for the orbital period, think of it like measurements of a line.

11

We must preserve the limited orbital energy that our solar system has!

12

Or maybe someone will invent a self-printing orbital colony ship.

Quote examples

1

This headline "Telemetry Data on All Satellites Orbiting Earth" is a little misleading -- they are orbital elements.

2

From there our plans started to look a bit more "traditional" with either an HLV snuck in there just for the crew (and not the base) or orbital assembly of an orbital ship.

3

Well, if "some point in the future" is taken liberally enough, then at "some point in the future" the Sun will be a red giant whose radius is greater than Earth's orbital radius.

4

A satellite can appear to "stand still" from the perspective of an observer on the ground, so long as it orbits at the right altitude/speed (speed and altitude of an orbit are proportional); the satellite's orbital period just has to be exactly a day long.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use orbital in a sentence?

Longer periods mean more observations for better accuracy, but you don't need to wait for a complete orbital period to get a decent estimate.

What does orbital mean?

Ellipsis of orbital sander. [A hand-held sander that vibrates in small circles, or orbits.]

What part of speech is orbital?

orbital is commonly used as noun, adjective.