What are “Inferior” and “Superior” Planetary orbits?
Mercury and Venus are said to have inferior orbits due to their greater nearness to the Sun than Earth. The other planets which are farther from the Sun than Earth are said to have superior orbits.
What is an Astronomical Unit?
An Astronomical unit (usually abbreviated as “a.u.”) is a unit of measurement of measuring distances in the Solar System one a.u is equal to 149,597,870 km which is the mean or average distance between the earth and Sun during the elliptical orbit on the earth around the Sun.
Do the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane?
Except Pluto, the entire planet orbit the Sun nearly in the same plane. The plane of the orbit of Pluto is titled by about 170 to the mean plane of orbit of then other planets.
What is meant by “Inner” and “Outer” Solar System?
The Inner Solar System refers to the region between the Sun and Mars where the planets are relativity close together. Beyond this is the Outer Solar System, where the planets are spaced relatively wider apart.
What are the main constituents of the Solar System?
The solar System consists of the Sun and all the heavenly bodies that orbit it, such as the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc.
The term Solar System is also synonymously used to refer to the region of space occupied by the Sun and the other bodies of the Solar System.
Name the planets and their symbols.
The nine planets orbiting the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Sometimes specific symbols are used to denote the planets.
Can a Heavenly body be a temporary member of the Solar System?
Yes. For example, a comet following a hyperbolic trajectory can enter the Solar System, go around the Sun Partially and leave the Solar System never to return.
Are the names of the planets usually mentioned in ascending order of their distance from the Sun?
Yes, up to Uranus. Pluto has a highly eccentric orbit which partially overlaps the orbit of Neptune. Sometimes Pluto is the outermost planet and at other times Neptune is the outermost one.
So all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction?
Yes.
Do all the planets rotate about their own axes white orbiting the Sun?
Yes.
Newton’s Laws of Motion are:
In astrology (dating back to ancient times), only heavenly phenomena and movements visible to the naked eye are considered. Hence the planets beyond Saturn that can only be seen with telescopes do not figure in astrology. Astrology also places great importance on the visual pattern (constellations) of the heavenly objects in the night sky, whereas they are of least significance to astronomers. The heavenly objects recognized by astrologers also include objects like “Rahu” and “Ketu” considered non-existent by astronomers. The movements of the heavenly objects are believed by astrologer’s manner, whereas according to astronomers such a contention has no scientific basis and any astrological correlations are considered purely coincidental.
What is meant by “Apogee” and “Pergiee”?
Apogee (Aphelion with reference to solar orbits) is the point in the elliptical orbit at which the orbiting body is at its farthest distance from the body around which it orbits.
Perigee (Perhelion with reference to solar orbits) refers to that point where the orbiting body is closest to the body around which it orbits. For example, in the case of an artificial satellite moving in an elliptical orbit around the Earth, its distance from the Earth would fluctuate during each orbit from a maximum at apogee to a minimum at perigee.
What is a nebula?
A nebula (Plural: nebulae or nebulas) is a vast cloud of gas and dust floating in space. Nebulae are usually detected in the night sky as bright or dark patches against the background of stars.
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