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What is the region of the sky where the moon and planets appear?
The Moon, Sun and planets all appear in a strip of sky called the ecliptic. It is a plane defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun is always on the ecliptic, while the Moon and planets stay close to it.
Where would the ecliptic be in the northern hemisphere?
This is difficult to describe in text, without sketches, but I'll try: -- First, the 'equator' of the sky: That's a line all around the sky that's exactly over the Earth's equator. In your sky, wherever you are, this 'celestial' equator is a semi-circle from the exactly-east point on your horizon to the exactly-west point. Its highest point is due south of you, and at that point, its height above your southern horizon is (90 degrees minus your latitude). If you're on the equator, then the celestial equator passes right over your head. If you're at the north pole, then the celestial equator coincides with your horizon. If you're in Minneapolis, Salem OR, Bangor, Grenoble, Torino, or Belgrade, at 45° north latitude, then it passes 45° above your south horizon. -- The highest of the 3 stars in Orion's belt is on the celestial equator. -- The ecliptic is another line all the way around the sky. It crosses the celestial equator at two places, and it's tilted 231/2 degrees to the equator. So half of the ecliptic is above (north) of the equator, and the other half of it is below the sky's equator. -- Through the day, as the Earth turns, one of the two points where the ecliptic crosses the equator will be in your sky at any one time. The ecliptic will appear high in your sky for half of the day, and low in the sky for the other half. The point where it crosses directly south of you will wiggle up and down through a total of 47 degrees in 24 hours. -- The left pincher of Scorpius and the heart of Leo (Regulus) are on the ecliptic. The eye of Taurus (Aldeberan) is not too far off of it. The ecliptic is actually the line where the plane of Earth's orbit cuts through the 'bowl' of the sky. Some of the results are: -- The sun is always on the ecliptic. -- The planets are always close to the ecliptic. Now, in mid-2013, Jupiter is smack on it. -- The moon is always within about 51/2 degrees of the ecliptic. -- In Summer, the sun is high, so the ecliptic ... with the moon and planets ... is low during the night. -- In Winter, the sun is low, so the ecliptic ... with the moon and planets ... is high during the night. Remember those two points where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator ? Those points in the sky are the 'equinoxes'. Those points are where the sun is on March 21 and September 21.
What is the difference between the zodiac constellations and other constellations?
There is an imaginary band in the sky called the Plane of the Ecliptic. The planets we can see from earth, never wander above or below that band of sky - so the planets are always in one of the other of the constellations that lie in that band. We call those particular 12 (or 13) constellations the "constellations of the Zodiac".
Is the Little Dipper always visible?
No. From some parts of the world it is NEVER visible.
Can the moon always be seen?
No, the visibility of the moon depends on its phase and its position in the sky. The moon is not always visible because it goes through different phases, such as new moon when it is not visible at all and full moon when it is fully illuminated and visible all night.
What is the region of the sky where the moon and planets appear?
The Moon, Sun and planets all appear in a strip of sky called the ecliptic. It is a plane defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun is always on the ecliptic, while the Moon and planets stay close to it.
What is Mars angle of orbit to ecliptic?
Mars has an orbital inclination of about 1.85 degrees in relation to the ecliptic plane. This slight tilt of Mars' orbit means that it does not always align perfectly with the plane of the solar system.
Where would the ecliptic be in the northern hemisphere?
This is difficult to describe in text, without sketches, but I'll try: -- First, the 'equator' of the sky: That's a line all around the sky that's exactly over the Earth's equator. In your sky, wherever you are, this 'celestial' equator is a semi-circle from the exactly-east point on your horizon to the exactly-west point. Its highest point is due south of you, and at that point, its height above your southern horizon is (90 degrees minus your latitude). If you're on the equator, then the celestial equator passes right over your head. If you're at the north pole, then the celestial equator coincides with your horizon. If you're in Minneapolis, Salem OR, Bangor, Grenoble, Torino, or Belgrade, at 45° north latitude, then it passes 45° above your south horizon. -- The highest of the 3 stars in Orion's belt is on the celestial equator. -- The ecliptic is another line all the way around the sky. It crosses the celestial equator at two places, and it's tilted 231/2 degrees to the equator. So half of the ecliptic is above (north) of the equator, and the other half of it is below the sky's equator. -- Through the day, as the Earth turns, one of the two points where the ecliptic crosses the equator will be in your sky at any one time. The ecliptic will appear high in your sky for half of the day, and low in the sky for the other half. The point where it crosses directly south of you will wiggle up and down through a total of 47 degrees in 24 hours. -- The left pincher of Scorpius and the heart of Leo (Regulus) are on the ecliptic. The eye of Taurus (Aldeberan) is not too far off of it. The ecliptic is actually the line where the plane of Earth's orbit cuts through the 'bowl' of the sky. Some of the results are: -- The sun is always on the ecliptic. -- The planets are always close to the ecliptic. Now, in mid-2013, Jupiter is smack on it. -- The moon is always within about 51/2 degrees of the ecliptic. -- In Summer, the sun is high, so the ecliptic ... with the moon and planets ... is low during the night. -- In Winter, the sun is low, so the ecliptic ... with the moon and planets ... is high during the night. Remember those two points where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator ? Those points in the sky are the 'equinoxes'. Those points are where the sun is on March 21 and September 21.
Are planets always visible?
The planets in our solar system are not always visible to an observer on Earth, for various reasons. Daylight reduces the visibility of planets significantly. Mercury and Venus, since they are inside the orbit of Earth (closer to the Sun), could only be seen in favorable conditions near sunset or sunrise and not in the middle of the night (or similar difficulties in solar transit, or other planets in opposition, close to the line of sight to the Sun). They would not be visible if occluded by a celestial body (or specifically if they are below the horizon). Neptune, being too distant, can't be resolved with the naked eye; exoplanets require sophisticated equipment to resolve.
Why are some planets only visible in the morning?
There is no planet that's always only visible in the morning. The part of the day during which each planet is visible changes, as both the Earth and the planet revolve around the sun.
Is Pluto lost?
Pluto is not lost, its orbit is well understood and there are people who know exactly where it is on any given day. However Pluto has an orbit that is unusually eccentric, and is inclined by 17 degrees to the ecliptic. That means it is found well off the beaten track where the eight major planets can always be found, near the ecliptic.
Was there a big disaster when all the planets were aligned last time?
There is always a problem with using the term Planetary alignment. How close do you want the planets to be in alignment. Do you include the ecliptic? If you want all the planets to be aligned in a straight line with only a 1 mile difference, then you'll have a wait a long long while - probably infinity. Even then, you have to take into account the ecliptic as space is 3 dimensional, so the planets will never align in a perfect straight line as seen from Earth. The last "close" alignment was in May 2000 and nothing happened then.
What is the general pattern of movements of all the objects in your solar system?
"Solar" by which you mean of the Sun, not the galaxy? In general most objects in orbit around the Sun are in the same ecliptic plane.Ecliptic and planetsMost planets go in orbits around the sun, which are almost in the same plane as the Earth's orbital plane, differing by a few degrees at most. As such they always appear close to the ecliptic when seen in the sky. Mercury with an orbital inclination of 7° is an exception. Pluto, at 17°, was previously the exception until it was reclassified a dwarf planet, but other bodies in the Solar System have even greater orbital inclinations (e.g. Eris at 44° and Pallas at 34°). Interestingly, the Earth has the most inclined orbit of all eight major planets relative to the Sun's equator, with the giant planets close behind.
Earths rotational axis is oriented perpendicular to the suns rays on the first day of?
The plane upon which the Earth travels round the Sun is called the ecliptic. It is only when two bodies are on this plane, and in line with the Sun, that an eclipse is observed. Hence the name ecliptic. The Earth's spin axis is always oriented about 23.4 degrees from the ecliptic plane. The Earth's spin axis is never perpendicular to the Sun's rays. You may be referring to the Sun being directly overhead at the Equator twice per year.
How can you say whether the shining object in the night sky is a planet or a star?
The four planets that are easiest to see, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Saturn are brighter than the stars, particularly Jupiter and Venus. Also, planets move a lot more, so their positions in relation to other stars will change if you observe them over the course of weeks or months. Venus is usually only visible for a while after the sun sets or before the sun rises. If you have binoculars or a telescope, you will be able to notice the difference in the stars to the planets. There are also lots of websites and magazines that will give you an idea of where the planet are at a certain time. The planets are always near the ecliptic, an imaginary line that runs through the 12 constellations that we associate with the zodiac.
Where is Polaris from Lima Peru?
As seen from Lima, Peru, Polaris is always about 12 degrees below the point on the horizon due north of the observer. So it is never visible.
What planets always surrounded the moon?
Moons are not surrounded by planets, planets are surrounded (orbited) by moons.
