SNOW LINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does snow line mean? 

• SNOW LINE (noun)
  The noun SNOW LINE has 1 sense:

1. the line on a mountain above which there is perpetual snow and ice

  Familiarity information: SNOW LINE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SNOW LINE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The line on a mountain above which there is perpetual snow and ice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("snow line" is a kind of...):

line (a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent)

 Context examples 

Models suggest these planets formed outside of the star's "snow line," the region of possible orbits where icy materials can survive.

('Cotton Candy' Planet Mysteries Unravel in New Hubble Observations, NASA)

Furthermore, current theories of planetary formation predict that the snow line is the ideal location for such planets to form.

(Super-Earth Discovered Around Barnard's Star, ESO)

Despite being relatively close to its parent star — at a distance only 0.4 times that between Earth and the Sun — the exoplanet lies close to the snow line, the region where volatile compounds such as water can condense into solid ice.

(Super-Earth Discovered Around Barnard's Star, ESO)