![]() ![]() Planets typically move toward the east in front of the stars. That same effect causes them to first pause, then move “backward” (or westward) relative to the background stars, before pausing and resuming their eastward motion. The word ‘retrograde’ itself, means to move backwards. An animation showing the retrograde motion of Mars in the summer of 2003. Their retrograde motion occurs because they circle the Sun much faster than Earth and sometimes overtake our planet as they swing around our star. Once your car (or our planet) has pulled far enough ahead, the retrograde motion disappears.īut as your question brings up, can this happen with the inferior planets Venus and Mercury? The answer is still yes, these planets do exhibit retrograde motion. ![]() Just as passing a slower-moving car on the highway makes that car artificially appear to move backward from your point of view, Mars appears to move backward, or retrograde, relative to the background stars for a period of time. Our planet has a shorter path to travel, so at some point, we “catch up” to Mars and then pass it. Earth circles the Sun every 365 days Mars takes 687 Earth days to do the same. This is certainly easiest to picture for superior planets - those outside of Earth’s orbit - such as Mars. Mars (and the other outer planets) is brightest when it is closest. Mars in the Loop This composite of images spaced some 5 to 9 days apart, from late April (bottom right) through November 5 (top left), traces the retrograde motion of ruddy-colored Mars through planet Earth's night sky. While we're passing by the red planet this year, it will look to us as though Mars is moving up and down. This is known as the retrograde motion of Mars Near the end of January, it reverses direction. A: The apparent retrograde motion of planets (and other objects) on the sky is an illusion caused by the fact that objects in our solar system orbit the Sun at different distances and speeds. Just as passing a slower-moving car on the highway makes that car artificially appear to move backward from your point of view, Mars appears to move backward, or retrograde, relative to the. As a result, it looks like the Moon is travelling in the opposite direction, otherwise known as apparent retrograde motion. The planet appears brightest during retrograde motion. Mars Retrograde Happens Every Two Years About every 26 months, Earth comes up from behind and overtakes Mars. Over the next three months, from November to late January, Mars moves toward the west each night. ![]()
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