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The superior planets, orbiting outside the Earth's orbit, do not exhibit a full range of phases since their maximum phase angles are smaller than 90°. Mars often appears significantly gibbous, it has a maximum phase angle of 45°. Jupiter has a maximum phase angle of 11.1° and Saturn of 6°, [1] so their phases are almost always full.
Deferent and epicycle. The epicycles of the planets in orbit around Earth (Earth at the center). The path-line is the combined motion of the planet's orbit (deferent) around Earth and within the orbit itself (epicycle). In the Hipparchian, Ptolemaic, and Copernican systems of astronomy, the epicycle (from Ancient Greek ἐπίκυκλος ...
In this situation, the latter planet is said to be superior to the former. In the reference frame of the Earth, where the terms were originally used, the inferior planets are Mercury and Venus, while the superior planets are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Dwarf planets like Ceres or Pluto and most asteroids are 'superior' in the ...
The phase curve is useful for characterizing an object's regolith (soil) and atmosphere. It is also the basis for computing the geometrical albedo and the Bond albedo of the body. In ephemeris generation, the phase curve is used in conjunction with the distances from the object to the Sun and the Earth to calculate the apparent magnitude.
Phase angle (astronomy) Phase angle diagram. In observational astronomy, phase angle is the angle between the light incident onto an observed object and the light reflected from the object. In the context of astronomical observations, this is usually the angle Sun -object-observer. For terrestrial observations, "Sun–object–Earth" is often ...
In spherical astronomy, quadrature is the configuration of a celestial object in which its elongation is a right angle (90 degrees), i.e., the direction of the object as viewed from Earth is perpendicular to the position of the Sun relative to Earth. It is applied especially to the position of a superior planet or the Moon at its first and last ...
In astronomy, a planet's elongation is the angular separation between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point. [1] The greatest elongation is the maximum angular separation. Astronomical tables and websites, such as Heavens-Above, forecast when and where the planets reach their next maximum elongations.
In astronomy, a syzygy (/ ˈ s ɪ z ə dʒ i / SIZ-ə-jee; from Ancient Greek συζυγία (suzugía) 'union, yoking', expressing the sense of σύν (syn-"together") and ζυγ- (zug-"a yoke") [1] [2]) is a roughly straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system.