An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. In the → X-wind model of → accretion, the distance from the star where the → centrifugal force on a particle corotating with the star balances the → gravitational attraction; in other words, where the → accretion disk rotates at the same
   → angular velocity as the star.
   

2. In a → spiral galaxy,
   the place where the spiral → pattern speed has the same velocity as the → rotation curve of the → galactic disk. In the frame rotating with the wave, particles inside this radius will appear to revolve in the direction of the frame rotation (prograde) while outside this corotation radius, they will be retrograde.

See also: → corotation; → radius.