Anomalistic Period
anomalistic period
[ə¦näm·ə¦lis·tik ′pir·ē·əd]Anomalistic Period (Anomaly; Anomalistic Year)
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)For a planet, an anomalistic period is the time between two successive perihelions (the point in a planet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun). For the Moon, an anomalistic period is the time between two successive perigees (the point where it is closest to Earth). The expression anomalistic period is derived from anomaly, which in astronomy refers to the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion or its aphelion. By extension, an anomalistic year is the period between Earth’s perihelions, which is 365.23964 days.