inferior conjunction

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inferior conjunction

The position of an inferior planet (Mercury or Venus) when it lies on a direct line between Earth and the sun and on the same side of the sun as Earth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

inferior conjunction - (astronomy) the alignment of the Earth and a planet on the same side of the sun

astronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole

alignment, conjunction - (astronomy) apparent meeting or passing of two or more celestial bodies in the same degree of the zodiac

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References in periodicals archive ?

Tribune News Network Doha MERCURY will be at inferior conjunction with the Sun on Sunday (July 21) at 3.30pm local time, passing in between the Sun and Earth, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) announced on Saturday.

Mercury inferior conjunction with Sun set for tomorrow

Mercury was at inferior conjunction with the Sun on November 27th, but in December it leaps up into an excellent morning apparition.

Conjunction Couplet: As we head into the darkest time of the year, the planets keep us busy with their nightly capers

Venus meets the sun in inferior conjunction on the 26th.

WIT & WISDOM: from The Old Farmer's Almanac, always 'useful, with a pleasant degree of humor'

While the 'superior conjunction' pertains to all planets in the solar system, an 'inferior conjunction' only involves two planets - Mercury and Venus, the statement adds.

Mercury at farthest point from earth Saturday

The radio eclipses in the PM survey were observed at [phi] ~0.25 when the pulsar was behind the companion (at inferior conjunction).

Irregularity observed in the light curve of the companion of PSR J1723-2837

The planet then moves briskly closer to the Sun with inferior conjunction occurring on Jan 11.

Sky notes: 2013 December & 2014 January

For a transit to occur, Venus has to be at inferior conjunction at the same time it's at a node.

Venus transit to be witnessed by North and Central America on June 5

After that, Jupiter will become progressively harder to see as it heads toward inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 25th.

January: the year begins with a bang--Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter shine in the early evening sky, while Saturn rises later on

It is at inferior conjunction on 14th (lying between us and the sun).

ARCHIVE: From meteor showers to a brightly shining belle of the celestial ball; Gill Pilfold of the Birmingham Astronomical Society reports on the night sky for January

16 Mercury at inferior conjunction with sun and therefore unviewable; first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, 1963.

Almanac

An inferior conjunction occurs when a Solar System body lies along a straight line between the Earth and the sun, with the Earth in between the two.

Mercury to hide behind sun today

Planet Mercury will be at inferior conjunction with the Sun today at 11.30pm Doha time, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) has announced.