Download Lecture on Planetary Configurations

The “where” and “when” of the solar system
Ceres
Eris
Quaoar
Haumea
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Planets between the Sun and Earth
Only two:
Mercury
Venus
In their orbits, where will we never see them?
In their orbits, where is the best time to see
them?
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The angle between the Sun and an inferior
planet as seen from Earth
At Maximum Elongation, the planet reflects
the most amount of sunlight, appears at its
brightest
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Near the Sun at Sunset or Sunrise
Ancients thought Venus was TWO different
stars
Evening Star
Morning Star
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When the Earth, Sun, and a planet line up
Inferior planets create two combinations:
Inferior Conjunction
Superior Conjunction
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Transit – when an inferior planet passes in
front of the Sun
Venus was in transit on June 5-6 2012!!!
Why or why not?
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Any planet orbiting beyond Earth
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
When/Where are the best times to see them?
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The Earth, Sun, and a superior planet are in a
line
The Sun is in the middle
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The Earth, Sun, and a superior planet are in a
line
The Earth is in the middle
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Highest in the sky (peak location)
Midnight (opposite the Sun!)
“Take the orbits of any two planets and draw a line between the two
planet positions every few days. Because the inner planet orbits faster
than the outer planet, interesting patterns evolve. Each planetary
pairing has its own unique dance rhythm. For example, the Earth-Venus
dance returns to the original starting position after eight Earth years.
Eight Earth years equals thirteen Venus years. Note that 8 and 13 are
members of the Fibonacci number series.
•Earth: 8 years * 365.256 days/year = 2,922.05 days
•Venus: 13 years * 224.701 days/year = 2,921.11 days (ie. 99.9%)
Watching the Earth-Venus dance for eight years creates this beautiful
five-petal flower with the Sun at the center.
(5 is another Fibonacci number.)”
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http://www.solarsystemscope.com/