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It is laid out as a geometric ellipse, according to a study by mathematician Clark Kimberling, a professor at the University of Evansville.
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Instead, the moon traces out a geometric figure known as an ellipse.
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That’s because the moon’s orbit around the Earth is an ellipse, not a circle.
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Things about angles, ellipses, gravity, probability, magnetics, pop culture, history.
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That's because the moon's orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather is an ellipse — which means the moon's distance from Earth ranges from a low of about 220,000 miles (354,000 km) to a high of about 250,000 miles (402,000 km).
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Three large pieces from the nineties, in which separate panels of different colors are held together with black pencil ellipses, achieve a similarly serene imbalance.
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The floor of the upper ellipse also curves up and down, giving the hall an unfixed, fluctuating profile.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ellipse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The property of an ellipse
A closed curve consisting of points whose distances from each of two fixed points (foci) all add up to the same value is an ellipse. The midpoint between the foci is the center. One property of an ellipse is that the reflection off its boundary of a line from one focus will pass through the other. As a result, in an elliptical room, a person whispering at one focus is easily heard by someone at the other. An oval may or may not fit the definition of an ellipse.
Illustration of ellipse
Origin and Etymology of ellipse
Greek elleipsis
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: circa 1753
in the meaning defined at sense 1a
See Words from the same yearOther Mathematics and Statistics Terms
ELLIPSE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of ellipse for English Language Learners
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: a shape that resembles a flattened circle
ELLIPSE Defined for Kids
Definition of ellipse for Students
: a shape that looks like a flattened circle
Learn More about ellipse
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See words that rhyme with ellipse Spanish Central: Translation of ellipse Nglish: Translation of ellipse for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ellipse
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