0
The term planet means 'wanderer'. (It is from the Greek planomi).
Early skywatchers noticed that almost all the stars move in a steady rotation across the heavens. (Of course it is really the earth which rotates). But a handful of stars zigzagged irregularly back and forth. (The stars seem to move all together because they are so distant from us; we notice the movement of the planets because they are much closer).
Mercury zigzagged back and forth the fastest. So Mercury became the messenger of the gods. Venus appears at her brightest just after dusk, and just before dawn; so she became the planet of Love. And so on ...
What else can I help you with?
Why do planets move across the night sky but stars don't?
The planets are closer. (They all move - and differently.)
Why does the sun appear brighter than your stars?
Because it's closer, like the moon
How does the distance of planets from Earth compare to the distance to the stars?
Planets are tremendously closer than the stars are. Even the closest star (other than the sun, which is also a star) is tens of thousands of times farther away than the most distant planet in our solar system.
Why do stars twinkle more than planets?
Stars appear to twinkle more than planets because they are farther away. The twinkling occurs because of turbulence in our atmosphere. The stars are so far away they are basically a pinpoint. The light appearing from the stars passes through the Earths atmosphere and as this happens, different colors in the light take slightly different paths depending on the degree of refraction. If colors were perfectly refracted the star might appear as a little group of colors, but the air moves around with solar heating and wind. The light dances around. This causes the "twinkling". Planets are closer than stars. This makes them a larger point or "disc" from which the light is traveling, therefore light is coming from a group of points, rather than just one. Really, planets CAN twinkle if the air is so unsteady that is causes multiple refractions of the light to occur. A more detailed explanation needed? Visit http://astroprofspage.com/archives/1168
Why stars appear as points while planets appear as discs?
Stars are usually much farther away from us than planets, so they appear as points of light due to their vast distance. Planets are relatively close to Earth in comparison and have a visible circular shape since they reflect the light from the Sun, making them appear as discs in the night sky.
Why do planets appear larger then stars?
because they're way closer than the stars
Why do the sun and planet appear to be moving through fixed stars?
The Sun and orbiting planets are MUCH closer to the Earth than other stars.
Why do planets appear to move through the background of stars?
Planets appear to move through the background of stars because they orbit the Sun at different speeds. As the Earth and other planets move in their orbits, their positions relative to the background stars change, causing them to appear to move across the sky. This is known as planetary motion.
Why do planets appear brighter than stars?
Planets appear brighter than stars because they reflect more sunlight and have larger apparent sizes in the night sky compared to distant stars. Stars emit light due to nuclear fusion in their cores, while planets reflect light from the Sun, making them appear brighter to us on Earth.
The planets appear to move through the background of stars because?
the planets orbit the Sun at varying speeds, causing them to appear to move against the fixed backdrop of stars as seen from Earth. This apparent motion is due to the Earth's own movement around the Sun, which creates the illusion of planets traversing the sky over time.
How do scientists know that planets are closer to earth than the stars?
not a clue
Why does the moon appear to be larger than the planets?
The moon appears much larger than the planets because it is closer.
Why do stars planets and moons do not collide it self?
The moon is many times closer to the Earth than the stars are.
Why does the moon appear bigger than the stars?
Because it is way closer than other stars!
Why do planets look brighter than stars?
They are a lot closer than the stars. The nearest star, Alpha Proxima is 4 light years away. The planets are at most a few light hours away. Although they don't emit light, several of them have cloudy or sandy surfaces, making them highly reflective of sunlight. somtimes stars are brighter like the sun thats a star
Why do some dwarf stars appear brighter than giant stars?
Because they are closer or actually brighter.
Why does the sun appear different to us than other stars?
because it is closer!
