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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.
Earth and Moon transiting the Sun in 2084, as seen from Mars. Image created using SpaceEngine Earth and Moon from Mars, as photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor. A transit of Earth across the Sun as seen from Mars takes place when the planet Earth passes directly between the Sun and Mars, obscuring a small part of the Sun's disc for an observer on Mars.
In astronomy, planetary transits and occultations occur when a planet passes in front of another object, as seen by an observer.The occulted object may be a distant star, but in rare cases it may be another planet, in which case the event is called a mutual planetary occultation or mutual planetary transit, depending on the relative apparent diameters of the objects.
Because most orbits in the Solar System are nearly coplanar to the ecliptic, this occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the body are configured in an approximately straight line, or syzygy; that is, Earth and the body are in the same direction as seen from the Sun. Opposition occurs only for superior planets (see the diagram).
The transit method can be used to discover exoplanets. As a planet eclipses/transits its host star it will block a portion of the light from the star. If the planet transits in-between the star and the observer the change in light can be measured to construct a light curve. Light curves are measured with a charge-coupled device. The light curve ...
Orbit of Mars relative to the orbits of inner Solar System planets Orbit of Mars and other Inner Solar System planets An animation to explain the (apparent) retrograde motion of Mars, using actual 2020 planet positions Mars seen through a 16-inch amateur telescope, at 2020 opposition. Mars has an orbit with a semimajor axis of 1.524 ...
Mars opposite Pluto triggers tension around your health habits and life behind the scenes. For instance, you may feel a sudden drive to overhaul your routines or make a big lifestyle change, but ...
Neptune 20.1° East January 26, 2007 06:46:07 Mercury 1°28' south of Neptune 12.7° East February 7, 2007 13:13:57 Venus 44' south of Uranus 24.6° East March 25, 2007 07:23:59 Mars 1°00' south of Neptune 43.2° West April 1, 2007 06:59:14 Mercury 1°37' south of Uranus 25.0° West April 28, 2007 18:57:38 Mars 44' south of Uranus 50.6° West