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Orbit vs Circumbinary - What's the difference?

orbit | circumbinary |

As a noun orbit

is orbit (path of one object around another object).

As an adjective circumbinary is

(astronomy) of, pertaining to, or having an orbit around a binary star.

orbit

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A circular or elliptical path of one object around another object.
    • The Moon's orbit around the Earth takes nearly one month to complete.
  • A sphere of influence; an area of control.
    • In the post WWII era, several eastern European countries came into the orbit of the Soviet Union.
  • The course of one's usual progression, or the extent of one's typical range.
    • The convenience store was a heavily travelled point in her daily orbit , as she purchased both cigarettes and lottery tickets there.
  • (anatomy) The bony cavity containing the eyeball; the eye socket.
  • (physics) The path an electron takes around an atom's nucleus.
  • (mathematics) A collection of points related by the evolution function of a dynamical system.

    • Derived terms

    * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To circle or revolve around another object.
    • The Earth orbits the Sun.
  • To move around the general vicinity of something.
    • The harried mother had a cloud of children orbiting her, asking for sweets.
  • To place an object into an orbit around a planet.
    • A rocket was used to orbit the satellite.

    Synonyms

    * (move around the general vicinity of) circumambulate, tag along * (place an object into an orbit) launch

    Derived terms

    * orbital

    See also

    * satellite * (wikipedia "orbit")

    circumbinary

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (astronomy) Of, pertaining to, or having an orbit around a binary star.
  • * 2014' Jan. 15, Stefan Lines ''et al.'', " Forming '''Circumbinary Planets: N-body Simulations of Kepler-34," '' The Astrophysical Journal Letters , vol. 782, L11 (retrieved 11 Feb 2014):
    • The effect of a reduced collision rate at large orbital radii on the formation timescale of planets is possibly explained by Alexander (2012) who suggests that circumbinary planets have more time to form than planets around single stars.