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Orbit vs Orbitally - What's the difference?

orbit | orbitally |

As a noun orbit

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

As an adverb orbitally is

(sciences) by means of or in relation to orbit.

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")

    orbitally

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (sciences) By means of or in relation to orbit
    • Patterns of glaciation have been orbitally influenced.
  • * {{quote-journal, 2002, J.T. Harvey, Estimating census district populations from satellite imagery, International Journal of Remote Sensing, volume=23, issue=10 citation
    • , passage=The task of population estimation differs in three important respects from many other applications of orbitally acquired data.}}
  • (physics, chemistry) By means of or in relation to an orbital or orbitals
  • * {{quote-journal, 1999, Jeroen van den Brink & Daniel Khomskii, Double Exchange via Degenerate Orbitals, Physical Review Letters citation
    • , passage=The eg levels, or bands, in which the charge carriers move are orbitally degenerate.}}