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The term retrograde is from the Latin word retrogradus – "backward-step", the affix retro-meaning "backwards" and gradus "step". Retrograde is most commonly an adjective used to describe the path of a planet as it travels through the night sky, with respect to the zodiac, stars, and other bodies of the celestial canopy. In this context, the ...
Six of the planets also rotate about their axis in this same direction. The exceptions – the planets with retrograde rotation – are Venus and Uranus. Venus's axial tilt is 177°, which means it is rotating almost exactly in the opposite direction to its orbit. Uranus has an axial tilt of 97.77°, so its axis of rotation is approximately ...
Neptune brightened about 10% between 1980 and 2000 mostly due to the changing of the seasons. [177] Neptune may continue to brighten as it approaches perihelion in 2042. The apparent magnitude currently ranges from 7.67 to 7.89 with a mean of 7.78 and a standard deviation of 0.06. [18] Prior to 1980, the planet was as faint as magnitude 8.0. [18]
The term does not refer to shape; Triton, for example, is a round moon but is considered irregular due to its orbit and origins. As of February 2024 [update] , 228 irregular moons are known, orbiting all four of the outer planets ( Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune ).
No, Mercury isn't the only planet that goes retrograde.
from Latin periodus (“complete sentence, period, circuit”), from Ancient Greek períodos (“cycle, period of time”) farer: ion: from Greek neuter present participle of ienai, meaning "to go". samestead: isotope: Greek roots isos (ἴσος "equal") and topos (τόπος "place"), meaning "the same place"
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) defines the north pole of a planet or any of its satellites in the Solar System as the planetary pole that is in the same celestial hemisphere, relative to the invariable plane of the Solar System, as Earth's north pole. [1] This definition is independent of the object's direction of rotation about its ...
Several symbols were proposed for Neptune to accompany the suggested names for the planet. Claiming the right to name his discovery, Urbain Le Verrier originally proposed the name Neptune [33] and the symbol of a trident, [34] while falsely stating that this had been officially approved by the French Bureau des Longitudes. [33]