Affinity (taxonomy) – mainly in life sciences or natural history – refers to resemblance suggesting a common descent, phylogenetic relationship, or type.[1] The term does, however, have broader application, such as in geology (for example, in descriptive and theoretical works[2][3]), and similarly in astronomy (for example, see "Centaur object" in the context of 2060 Chiron's close affinity with icy comet nuclei.[4])