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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.
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).
This is because the Sun acts as a large electromagnetic noise generator which creates a signal much stronger than the satellite's tracking signal. [ citation needed ] One example of limitations caused by the solar conjunction occurred when the NASA - JPL team put the Curiosity rover on Mars' surface in autonomous operation mode for 25 days ...
A transit occurs when Venus reaches conjunction with the Sun whilst also passing through the Earth's orbital plane, and passes directly across the face of the Sun. [citation needed] [note 1] Sequences of transits usually repeat every 243 years, after which Venus and Earth have returned to nearly the same point in their respective orbits.
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.
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 ...
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.
Superior planets, dwarf planets and asteroids undergo a different cycle. After conjunction, such an object's elongation continues to increase until it approaches a maximum value larger than 90° (impossible with inferior planets) which is known as opposition and can also be examined as a heliocentric conjunction with Earth. This is archetypally ...