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As seen from a planet that is superior, if an inferior planet is on the opposite side of the Sun, it is in superior conjunction with the Sun. An inferior conjunction occurs when the two planets lie in a line on the same side of the Sun. In an inferior conjunction, the superior planet is "in opposition" to the Sun as seen from the inferior planet.
Conjunction of Mercury and Venus, appearing above the Moon, at the Paranal Observatory. This is a list of the Solar System's recent planetary conjunctions (in other words, when two planets look close together) for the period 2005–2020.
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 sense that they almost all orbit outside the orbit of Earth.
Communication with any spacecraft in solar conjunction will be severely limited due to the Sun's interference on radio transmissions from the spacecraft. [1] The term can also refer to the passage of the line of sight to an interior planet (Mercury or Venus) or comet being very close to the solar disk.
Seen from a superior planet, an inferior planet on the opposite side of the Sun is in superior conjunction with the Sun. An inferior conjunction occurs when the two planets align on the same side of the Sun. At inferior conjunction, the superior planet is "in opposition" to the Sun as seen from the inferior planet (see the diagram).
The apparent brightness of Mercury as seen from Earth is greatest at phase angle 0° (superior conjunction with the Sun) when it can reach magnitude −2.6. [14] At phase angles approaching 180° (inferior conjunction) the planet fades to about magnitude +5 [14] with the exact brightness depending on the phase angle at that particular ...
A planet that orbits a pulsar or a rapidly rotating neutron star. PSR B1257+12 A, B and C: Rogue planet: Also known as an interstellar planet. A planet that is not bound to any star, stellar remnant or brown dwarf. OGLE-2016-BLG-1928: Superior planets: Planets whose orbits lie outside the orbit of Earth. [nb 1] Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and ...
The word is often used in reference to the Sun, Earth, and either the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition. Solar and lunar eclipses occur at times of syzygy, as do transits and occultations. The term is often applied when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction or in opposition . [4]