precession

• Then solemnly and very slowly, as if walking were as mathematically exact a process as the precession of the equinox, he led the way into the outer courtyard, where he stood for a moment and studied the fountain as if it contained the answer to the riddle of the universe. —  OM: The Secret of Ahbor Valley
• Moderate temperature range, slight axial tilt with two sizable moons to prevent excessive precession, and an orbit almost perfectly circular—at least according to the records, which apparently hadn't falsified that astronomical fact. —  Analog SFF, November 2006
• His discussion of precession, which he rightly attributes to a slow motion of the earth's axis, is marred by the idea that the precession is variable. —  Kepler
• The first volume, devoted to the new star of 1572, was not ready, because the reduction of the observations involved so much research to correct the star places for refraction, precession, etc.; it was not completed in fact until Tycho's death, but the second volume, dealing with the comet of 1577, was printed at Uraniborg and some copies were issued in 1588. —  Kepler
• He obtained an improved value of the constant of precession, and did good service by rejecting the idea that it was variable, an idea which, under the name of trepidation, had for many centuries been accepted. —  Kepler

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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