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You are here: Home / Space / What Do Superior and Inferior Conjunctions Mean In Positional Astronomy and What Is the Difference Between Them?

What Do Superior and Inferior Conjunctions Mean In Positional Astronomy and What Is the Difference Between Them?

June 8, 2020 by Karen Hill

The terms inferior and superior conjunctions refer specifically to the alignment of the Sun, Earth, and either of the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus.

At some point, all three line up in a row, sometimes with the Sun in the middle and sometimes with the inferior planet in the middle.

When the Sun is in the middle, the inferior planet is at superior conjunction and can’t be seen from Earth.

When the inferior planet is in the middle, it is at inferior conjunction.

A conjunction is also sometimes known as an appulse.

Related Facts

  • What Are the Inferior and Superior Planets and What Is the Difference Between Superior and Inferior Planets?
  • What Is Opposition and What Does Opposition Mean In Positional Astronomy?
  • What Is Syzygy In Positional Astronomy and What Does the Word Syzygy Mean In Latin?
  • What Is a Celestial Sphere and How Is the Celestial Sphere Important In Positional Astronomy?
  • What Is Astronomy, What Does Astronomy Mean In Greek, and Why Is the Study of Astronomy Important To Us?
  • What Are the Phases of the Planet Mercury and Why Do Inferior Planets Have Phases Like the Moon?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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