Ads
related to: superior planet phases 1 and n meaning science video worksheetteacherspayteachers.com has been visited by 100K+ users in the past month
- Packets
Perfect for independent work!
Browse our fun activity packs.
- Free Resources
Download printables for any topic
at no cost to you. See what's free!
- Resources on Sale
The materials you need at the best
prices. Shop limited time offers.
- Lessons
Powerpoints, pdfs, and more to
support your classroom instruction.
- Packets
Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
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.
Diagram showing the eastern and western quadratures of a superior planet like Mars. 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.
For some objects, such as the Moon (see lunar phases), Venus and Mercury the phase angle (as seen from the Earth) covers the full 0–180° range. The superior planets cover shorter ranges. For example, for Mars the maximum phase angle is about 45°. For Jupiter, the maximum is 11.1° and for Saturn 6°. [1]
At phase angles exceeding 90° (crescent phase) the brightness falls off especially sharply. The shape of the phase curve indicates a mean slope on the surface of Mercury of about 16°, [1] which is slightly smoother than that of the Moon. Approaching phase angle 0° (fully illuminated phase) the curve rises to a sharp peak.
This diagram shows various possible elongations (ε), each of which is the angular distance between a planet and the Sun from Earth's perspective. 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.
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).
A giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium gases rather than heavier elements, e.g. Jupiter and Saturn in the Solar System. geocenter The geometric center of the Earth, i.e. the arithmetic mean position of all points within the oblate spheroid that is the precise shape of the Earth. geocentric
Ads
related to: superior planet phases 1 and n meaning science video worksheetteacherspayteachers.com has been visited by 100K+ users in the past month