Planetary Conjunction
Context
- Mars, Venus, Moon are set to align on July 12-13.
About
- Both Mars and Venus will appear in the western horizon under clear weather conditions just after sunset.
- Before that, the moon will pass closest to the two planets.
- This unique phenomenon is part of planetary conjunction. Such conjunction takes place when two planets appear to have come closer, while in reality they remain far away.
- Mars and Venus are likely to be 0.5 degrees apart as observed from Earth, though they are actually further apart.
- The planetary alignment will be observable only from Earth.
Types of Conjunctions
- 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.
- A triple conjunction is an astronomical event where two planets or a planet and a star meet each other three times in a short period, either in opposition or at the time of inferior conjunction, if an inferior planet is involved.
- The lining-up of three planets is a particular case of
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What are Superior and Inferior Planets? · In the Solar System, a planet is said to be inferior or interior with respect to another planet if its orbit lies inside the other planet's orbit around the Sun. · In this situation, the latter planet is said to be superior to the former. · In the reference frame of the Earth, in which 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. |
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