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Article: Planets in Motion.
- Article from:
- Science Scope
- Article date:
- September 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Science Teachers Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Bob Riddle
September 2005
Figure 1. Sky chart section showing ecliptic and sky equator and location of Venus and Jupiter.
All the planets in our solar system revolve around the Sun in the same direction, clockwise when viewed from above the North Pole. This is referred to as direct motion. From our perspective on the Earth's surface, the planets travel east across the sky in relation to the background of stars. The Sun also moves eastward daily, but this is an apparent motion as it is the Earth that is actually moving, giving rise to the Sun's apparent motion against the stellar backdrop. A careful observation of the Sun's apparent path ...