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Topic: Inferior planet

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Sidereal period

Mercury (planet)

Mars (planet)

Ptolemaic system

Geosynchronous orbit derivation

Jupiter (planet)

Astrodynamics

Line of nodes

Dictum

Ptolemy

Synodic period

	The Nine Planets Glossary
		An inferior planet is said to be "in inferior conjunction" when it is directly between the Earth and the Sun.
		the inclination of a planet's orbit is the angle between the plane of its orbit and the ecliptic; the inclination of a moon's orbit is the angle between the plane of its orbit and the plane of its primary's equator.
		A synchronous satellite with an orbital inclination of zero (same plane as the planet's equator) stays fixed in the sky from the perspective of an observer on the planet's surface (such orbits are commonly used for communications satellites).
	www.seds.org /nineplanets/nineplanets/help.html (4940 words)

	Planet - LoveToKnow 1911
		Then, as it approaches inferior conjunction, the visible portion of the disk assumes the crescent form, and while the circle bounding the disk continually increases owing to the approach of the planet to the earth, the crescent becomes thinner and thinner until, near inferior conjunction, the planet is no longer visible.
		The positions of the planets at ten-day intervals; their actual position on the 1st of January 1910 at noon, of their nodes and nearer apses, and the points when they are farthest distant north and south of the ecliptic, are also given.
		The temperature of the surface of the planet on which the atmosphere rests is determined partly by the sun's radiation and partly by the temperature of the air.
	www.1911encyclopedia.org /Planet (2869 words)

	Astronomy Answers: Planetary Phenomena
		Inferior planets have two separate conjunctions each synodical period: an inferior conjunction (always close to perigee) when they pass between the Sun and the Earth, and a superior conjunction (always close to apogee) when they pass behind the Sun.
		Inferior conjunctions of inferior planets are interesting in exceptional cases, namely when such a planet moves across the disk of the Sun, as seen from Earth.
		The elongation is roughly equal to the distance, in the sky, of the planet from the Sun, measured in degrees.
	www.astro.uu.nl /~strous/AA/en/verschijnselen.html (1698 words)

	Voyage 8
		The planets Mercury and Venus, closer to the Sun than the Earth, are called the inferior planets while planets farther from the Sun than the Earth are termed the superior planets (Mars, Jupiter, and so on).
		Because the planet is closest to the Earth, at opposition, it is at its brightest.
		For an inferior planet the synodic period can be defined as the time between two inferior conjunctions and for a superior planet, as the time between two oppositions.
	www.physics.emich.edu /jwooley/chapter8/Chapter8.html (1737 words)

	Apparent motion of planets
		From the Earth¡¦s perspective, the planets are observed to move closely along a circle known as the ecliptic - the apparent path of the Sun¡¦s movement on the celestial sphere as seen from the Earth.
		This apparent motion depends on whether the planet is nearer the Sun than the Earth (an inferior planet) or further away from the Sun than the Earth (a superior planet).
		When an inferior planet precedes the Sun and appears west of the Sun in the morning, it is in western elongation (Figure 2).
	www.weather.gov.hk /gts/event/event-apparent-motion_e.htm (382 words)

	PLANET (Gr. ssXavirrns... - Online Information article about PLANET (Gr. ssXavirrns...
		Boa/e of planets 20,000 times that of Orbits /Jupiter and Saturn are shown in their true axial position, Uranus and Neptune in the axial positions inferred from the motions of their Satellites/.
		The general conclusion from this is that these planets are surrounded by deep and dense atmospheres, semi-transparent, of a constitution which is probably very different from that of the earth's atmosphere.
		The planets Uranus and Neptune which, but for their atmospheres, would approximate to the absolute zero in temperature, may be prevented from doing so by the dense atmosphere which the spectroscope shows around them.
	encyclopedia.jrank.org /PIG_POL/PLANET_Gr_ssXavirrns_a_wanderer.html (3201 words)

	Astronomy@kirkwood:ic — The Copernican Universe
		In all cases it is the alignment of the inferior planet with both the Sun and Earth that is relevant, but for simplicity the position of Earth is unchanged in the diagram.
		At the moment of greatest elongation, an inferior planet is at its greatest angular separation from the Sun and appears to move radially towards/away from Earth.
		Based on the geometry of the orbits, the most favorable time to observe an inferior planet is at greatest elongation—as a "morning star" at greatest western elongation or as an "evening star" at greatest eastern elongation.
	www.avalon.net /~bstuder/copernicus.html (502 words)

	Movements and Visibility Cycles of the Naked Eye Planets
		The planets can be distinguished from the stars because they change their position slightly against the background stars from one night to the next, and their brightness varies in a regular cycle over a period of time.
		When the superior planets are emerging in the dawn sky (after superior conjunction) or disappearing into the dusk sky (before superior conjunction), they are subject to the same visibility problems as the inferior planets, due to the effects of twilight and the angle of the ecliptic to the local horizon.
		During the course of the year, all the planets appear to describe intricate 'loop formations' against the background stars; this is a line-of-sight effect caused by the changing relative positions of the Earth and the planets as they move at differing speeds in their orbits.
	homepage.ntlworld.com /mjpowell/Astro/Naked-Eye-Planets/Planet-Movements.htm (4483 words)

	Planet Summary
		All the currently accepted planets in the solar system are named after Roman gods, except for Uranus (named after a Greek god) and the Earth, which was not seen as a planet by the ancients but rather the centre of the universe.
		No interstellar planet is known to date, but their existence is considered a likely hypothesis based on computer simulations of the origin and evolution of planetary systems, which often include the ejection of bodies of significant mass.
		Uranian planets, or ice giants, are a sub-class of gas giants, distinguished from true Jovians by their depletion in hydrogen and helium and a significant composition of rock and ice.
	www.bookrags.com /Planet (3704 words)

	Lesson 12 - The Motion of the Planets
		Inferior planets undergo direct motion as they move from western to eastern elongation and they undergo retrograde motion as they move from eastern to western elongation.
		The inferior planets spend half their time in retrograde motion as they move from their greatest eastern elongation to their greatest western elongation.
		The superior planets are always moving east to west (westward) in direct motion, but as they approach opposition they do a little "retrograde dance" that is actually caused by the motion of the Earth.
	www.synapses.co.uk /astro/planets2.html (4040 words)

	Moving worlds : Moving worlds : The solar system : GCSE Astronomy : For schools : E-learning : Learning : NMM
		The word 'planet' derives from the Greek for 'wanderer' and the five bright planets were originally recognised as 'wandering stars' as they moved through the zodiac.
		When inferior planets are on the far side of the Sun from the Earth they are at superior conjunction and have a full phase but a small angular diameter.
		If an inferior planet is directly between the Earth and the Sun and exactly in line with both bodies then for a few hours it will appear to cross or transit the solar surface, appearing as a silhouetted fl disk.
	www.nmm.ac.uk /server?show=conWebDoc.13858&setPaginate=No (1701 words)

	Weasner's Meade ETX Site
		Being the closest planet to the sun, it circles inside the orbit of Venus (distance 67 million miles), and thus both exhibit this motion common to the inferior planets.
		As the inferior planets stretch their limits as high as possible in the eastern and western sky, we are reminded that we are but the third planet of the sun.
		In regard to the superior planets, once their locations have been learned by even the casual stargazer, it is difficult to forget where they will appear in the sky the next season, since their motions are minor when compared to the moon, or even Venus and Mercury.
	www.weasner.com /etx/ref_guides/venus.html (3364 words)

	An Overview of the Solar System
		The solar system consists of the Sun; the eight official planets, at least three "dwarf planets", more than 130 satellites of the planets, a large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary medium.
		With a few exceptions, the planetary satellites orbit in the same sense as the planets and approximately in the plane of the ecliptic but this is not generally true for comets and asteroids.
		The gas planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium and generally have low densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings and lots of satellites.
	www.nineplanets.org /overview.html (1315 words)

	Elongation (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
		Inferior planets are never very far from the sun as seen from earth.
		When the planet seems to follow the sun, as seen from earth, appearing east of the sun in the evening, the planet is in eastern elongation.
		The two most favorable times to observe an inferior planet are in its eastern or western greatest elongation, the two times when the planet appears farthest away from the sun as seen from earth.
	library.thinkquest.org /29033/begin/elongation.htm (517 words)

	Urban Astro Images Web Page - Planetary Studies (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
		The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets.
		A superior planet is said to be in conjunction when it is on the other side of the sun as seen from earth.
		Inferior conjunction occurs when planet is between the sun and the earth.
	home.comcast.net /~jjs-cts/Planetary_Studies.html (609 words)

	EXPLANATION INNER PLANETS
		In these days of interplanetary spacecraft visiting the inner or outer regions of the solar system, the term inferior planet could be probably more properly considered as one which lies inside the orbit of the observer or spacecraft.
		At superior conjunction, such planets appear as small circular disks, whose full phase is never really seen because of the inferior planet’s proximity to the Sun.
		As the orbits of the inferior planets are not perfectly aligned to the plane of the planets, the ecliptic, it becomes rare for transits across the disk at inferior conjunction to occur.
	homepage.mac.com /andjames/PageExpInnPlan003.htm (928 words)

	Astronomy - Understanding the solar system - Richard Talcott
		The inferior planets — Mercury and Venus — lie between the Sun and Earth, and the superior planets (the other six) lie beyond Earth's orbit.
		If you envision an inferior planet's orbit relative to Earth's, the moment when it passes directly between Earth and the Sun is called inferior conjunction.
		As great as observing a planet or moon can be, many skywatchers place the interaction of three objects at the top of their solar system observing list.
	www.astronomy.com /asy/default.aspx?c=ss&id=122 (2504 words)

	Hundredth Planet Outside Solar System Discovered (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
		Soon after the first extrasolar planets were found, beginning in 1995, most planets were found in orbit close to their host stars.
		Planets closer to their suns orbit at a much faster rate, and therefore take much less time to detect.
		The word planet is of Greek origin, meaning, literally, wanderer, applied because the planets appear to move relative to the stars.
	news.nationalgeographic.com /news/2002/09/0917_020917_planet.html (890 words)

	Lesson 11 - The Positions of the Planets
		When a planet has a (solar) elongation of zero it is in conjunction and that is the worse time to look for the planet.
		The greatest elongation for the two inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, occurs when the line from the Earth to the inferior planet is at a tangent to the Sun.
		No planet can be seen when it's in conjunction because it is either behind the Sun (at superior conjunction) or lost in the Sun's brightness as it passes in front of the Sun (at inferior conjunction).
	www.synapses.co.uk /astro/planets1.html (2583 words)

	1999 Transit of Mercury
		The transit or passage of a planet across the disk of the Sun is a relatively rare occurrence.
		The entire disk of the planet is first seen at contact II when the planet is internally tangent with the Sun.
		At that time, the transiting planet seems to be attached to the Sun's limb by a thin column or thread.
	sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov /eclipse/OH/transit99.html (1366 words)

	Plate Tectonics Earth Planet Model Patent
		Thus, the reader will see that the plate tectonic Earth planet model of this invention provides an outstanding tool, device, or instrument for conveying, or teaching, the principles of plate tectonics to children and parents, students and educators, or hobbyists of all ages.
		The earth planet model as defined in claim 9, wherein said plurality of spheroidal members are hollow and formed of a durable, transparent material selected from the group consisting of plastic polymer compounds, said connecting means enabling said plurality of spheroidal members to be non-detachably joined together.
		The earth planet model as defined in claim 9, wherein said plurality of spheroidal members are formed of a durable material selected from the group consisting of plastic polymer compounds, said connecting means enabling said plurality of spheroidal members to be detachably joined together.
	www.platetectonics.com /patent (1840 words)

	Aspects and Phases of the Planets
		Thus, we see that the inferior planets exhibit a complete set of phases (just like the Moon) as viewed from the earth, and can never be further from the Sun than the angles defined by greatest elongation.
		The aspects and phases of the superior planets differ from those of the inferior planets because of geometry: their orbits are outside that of the Earth.
		Comparing with the preceding diagram for the inferior planets, we notice two basic differences: (1) The superior planets do not exhibit a full range of phases; they are always gibbous or full.
	csep10.phys.utk.edu /astr161/lect/celestial/aspects.html (291 words)

	Night skies in the Axarquia on the Costa del Sol, Andalucia, Spain
		Before and after inferior conjuction, when Venus is the closest it comes to the Earth, are the times at which the planet is most brilliant and can be seen setting or rising 4 hours after or before the Sun.
		For newcomers to planet spotting, a good hint is that the planets always travel within a few degrees of the path of the sun.
		Above we note the planets and some of the other objects that can be seen by the naked eye during the current month and year.
	www.absoluteaxarquia.com /nightsky.html (1988 words)

	Mercury Transits the Sun
		This was called a grazing transit, because the planet's path moved across the northeastern limb of the sun, just hemming the sun's edge.
		The inferior planets show phases, i.e., changes in their apparent shapes, like the moon as they move about the sun.
		At inferior conjunction, the phase of Mercury is similar to the "new moon" phase of the moon.
	members.cox.net /sidleach/mercury.htm (536 words)

	Lecture 12: The Wanderers
		Planet is between the Earth and the Sun.
		Planet is at its furthest West of the Sun as seen from the Earth (same angles as Eastern Elongation).
		Planet is on the same side of the sky as the Sun.
	www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu /~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/wanderers.html (580 words)

	inferior planet. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05
		planet whose orbit lies inside that of the earth.
		There are two inferior planets, Mercury and Venus.
		They always seem to be close to the sun in the sky; the greatest elongation of Mercury is 28°, and that of Venus, 47°.
	www.bartleby.com /65/in/inferior.html (114 words)

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