radius vector

noun — 2 senses

radius vector

noun
1

Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences Of a point, a vector going from the origin to that point; equivalently, the transpose of the point.

2

Astronomy, Natural sciences An ideal straight line joining the center of an attracting body with that of a body describing an orbit around it, as a line joining the sun and a planet or comet, or a planet and its satellite.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.