A mathematical measure of how much an ellipse deviates from being a perfect circle; the degree of elongation in an elliptical shape.
From elliptic with the suffix -ity, which creates nouns denoting quality or degree. Used extensively in astronomy and mathematics since the 18th century.
Astronomers use ellipticity to describe how 'squished' planetary orbits are—Earth's ellipticity is about 0.017, meaning our orbit is remarkably circular compared to most planets!
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