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Lagrangian point

   Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
La·gran·gi·an point  (l-grnj-n)
n.
Astronomy Any of five points, stable with respect to gravitational forces and in the orbital plane of two bodies, one of which is much larger than the other. A third, smaller body placed at one of these points will remain in equilibrium with respect to the other two bodies.

[After Comte Joseph Louis Lagrange.]

Lagrangian point  (l-grnj-n)
A point in space where a small body with negligible mass under the gravitational influence of two large bodies will remain at rest relative to the larger ones. In a system consisting of two large bodies (such as the Sun-Earth system or the Moon-Earth system), there are five Lagrangian points (L1 through L5). Knowledge of these points is useful in deciding where to position orbiting bodies.

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Michael Mann's film Ali explores the complexities of life in a Lagrangian point, with forces pulling him between champion boxer and cultural icon.
 
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