Planets Planet means “wanderer” in Greek The latitudes of the planets are always less than 3° except for Mercury, which can go up to 7°

Planets 2 The inferior planets, Mercury and Venus are always close to the Sun, and only visible in the early morning or early evening low in the sky The superior planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptun can be seen at any time of the night and at any altitude of the Sky

Planets 3 The period of revolution increases with distance from the Sun The planets normally move from West to East (just like the annual motion of the Sun), but occasionally they change direction and go into retrograde motion

Planets 4 For the superior planets this happens when we overtake them For the inferior planets this happens when they overtake us