Syzygy

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

Syzygy is a kind of unity, especially through coordination or alignment, most commonly used in the astronomical sense. From the Late Latin syzygia, "conjunction," from the Greek σύζῠγος (syzygos), "yoked together." Syzygy is the shortest English word with three y's.

Astronomy

In astronomy, a syzygy is the alignment of three celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a straight line. The word is usually used in context with the Sun, Earth, and the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition. Solar and lunar eclipses occur at times of syzygy, as do transits and occultations. The term is also applied to each instance of New Moon or Full Moon when Sun and Moon are in conjunction or opposition, even though they are not precisely on one line with the Earth.

The word is often loosely used to describe interesting configurations of planets in general. For example, situations when all the planets are on the same side of the Sun, as occurred on March 10, 1982, are sometimes called 'syzygies', although they are not necessarily found along a straight line.

--Angel 16:42, 13 June 2006 (CDT)