<p>I don't work with black holes, but I've been in the field of astrophysics for several years now, and until I read this question, I had never heard of either the two terms.</p>

<p>But a query on <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu" rel="noreferrer">NASA/ADS</a>, the primary database for "professional" astronomical papers (both refereed and non-refereed) yields <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/q=%20full%3A%22peribothron%22&amp;sort=date%20desc%2C%20bibcode%20desc&amp;p_=0" rel="noreferrer">54 hits for "peribothron"</a> vs. only <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/p_=0&amp;q=full%3A%22perinigricon%22&amp;sort=date%20desc%2C%20bibcode%20desc" rel="noreferrer">10 hits for "perinigricon"</a>. Not a lot.</p>

<p>As your links reveal, the etymological origin of peribothron/-nigricon is "near the black hole" in Greek and Latin, respectively. The reason has been to conform with terms such as perihelion, meaning "near the Sun". The first to use the Greek version in the literature was <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976MNRAS.176..633F/abstract" rel="noreferrer">Frank &amp; Rees (1976)</a> who write in a footnote:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><span class="math-container">$^\star$</span>We are grateful to W. R. Stoeger for suggesting this word, derived from the Greek <em>bothros</em>, a pit.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>William Stoeger was the second author Martin Rees' student (and Stephen Hawking's classmate).</p>

<p>The first to use the Latin version seems to have been <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002Natur.419..694S/abstract" rel="noreferrer">Schödel et al. (2002)</a>, but they don't offer any explanation for the term.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T08:30:13.717Z
These don't fall under the same category as terms discussed in [What's the origin and culture of funny astronomical terminology?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/1650/7982) but I wonder if the the opportunity to name something was so enticing that neither one could help themselves from coining a new term when the opportunity presented itself. Thanks for the answer!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T09:14:01.647Z
@uhoh You're welcome, was a fun one to dig into :)
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-10T02:00:36.943Z
digging into my old questions I "discovered" that I hadn't accepted yet, so have done so now. Thanks again!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-10T09:14:30.477Z
@uhoh Thanks :)
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T08:18:21.873Z
2019-08-13T08:18:21.873Z
pela
<p>Gizmodo.com's <a href="https://gizmodo.com/astronomers-spot-unprecedented-flashes-from-our-galaxys-1837181115" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Astronomers Spot Unprecedented Flashes From Our Galaxy's Black Hole</a> mentions Sgr A*'s companion <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A*#Discovery_of_G2_gas_cloud_on_an_accretion_course" rel="nofollow noreferrer">gas cloud G2</a> and that Wikipedia article uses the term <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/perinigricon" rel="nofollow noreferrer">perinigricon</a>, but that mentions <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peribothron#English" rel="nofollow noreferrer">peribothron</a> as a synonym.</p>

<p>So which term for an object's orbit's closest approach to a black hole is most frequently used; perinigricon or peribothron? And what are the origins of these competing terms?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T05:40:47.837Z
There's probably a new answer to be posted for [How do apsides of celestial bodies get their names?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/6639/12102) as well.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T06:01:01.447Z
companion question: [How did they estimate the mass of Sgr A*'s companion G2 without knowing what it was?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/33012/7982)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T11:22:59.423Z
You mean it's not periholion?
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T11:48:29.703Z
@MikeG If I ever switch field to black holes, I will use that term and acknowledge you in a footnote :D
pela
<black-hole><orbital-mechanics><terminology>
Origins and most frequently used; perinigricon vs peribothron?
uhoh
# Origins and most frequently used; perinigricon vs peribothron?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-13)

Gizmodo.com's [Astronomers Spot Unprecedented Flashes From Our Galaxy's Black Hole](https://gizmodo.com/astronomers-spot-unprecedented-flashes-from-our-galaxys-1837181115) mentions Sgr A\*'s companion [gas cloud G2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A*#Discovery_of_G2_gas_cloud_on_an_accretion_course) and that Wikipedia article uses the term [perinigricon](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/perinigricon), but that mentions [peribothron](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peribothron#English) as a synonym.

So which term for an object's orbit's closest approach to a black hole is most frequently used; perinigricon or peribothron? And what are the origins of these competing terms?

**Tags:** black-hole, orbital-mechanics, terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: There's probably a new answer to be posted for [How do apsides of celestial bodies get their names?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/6639/12102) as well.  
> **username_0**: companion question: [How did they estimate the mass of Sgr A*'s companion G2 without knowing what it was?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/33012/7982)  
> **username_1**: You mean it's not periholion?  
> **username_2**: @username_1 If I ever switch field to black holes, I will use that term and acknowledge you in a footnote :D  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-08-13. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

I don't work with black holes, but I've been in the field of astrophysics for several years now, and until I read this question, I had never heard of either the two terms.

But a query on [NASA/ADS](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu), the primary database for "professional" astronomical papers (both refereed and non-refereed) yields [54 hits for "peribothron"](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/q=%20full%3A%22peribothron%22&sort=date%20desc%2C%20bibcode%20desc&p_=0) vs. only [10 hits for "perinigricon"](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/p_=0&q=full%3A%22perinigricon%22&sort=date%20desc%2C%20bibcode%20desc). Not a lot.

As your links reveal, the etymological origin of peribothron/-nigricon is "near the black hole" in Greek and Latin, respectively. The reason has been to conform with terms such as perihelion, meaning "near the Sun". The first to use the Greek version in the literature was [Frank & Rees (1976)](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976MNRAS.176..633F/abstract) who write in a footnote:

> $^\star$We are grateful to W. R. Stoeger for suggesting this word, derived from the Greek *bothros*, a pit.

William Stoeger was the second author Martin Rees' student (and Stephen Hawking's classmate).

The first to use the Latin version seems to have been [Schödel et al. (2002)](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002Natur.419..694S/abstract), but they don't offer any explanation for the term.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: These don't fall under the same category as terms discussed in [What's the origin and culture of funny astronomical terminology?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/1650/7982) but I wonder if the the opportunity to name something was so enticing that neither one could help themselves from coining a new term when the opportunity presented itself. Thanks for the answer!  
> **username_2**: @username_0 You're welcome, was a fun one to dig into :)  
> **username_0**: digging into my old questions I "discovered" that I hadn't accepted yet, so have done so now. Thanks again!  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Thanks :)  

---

