The Naked-Eye Planets: Practice Problem Solutions

1. Wanderer.

2. Mars is reddish-orange. Venus is the brightest planet.

3. They orbit inside Earth's orbit, so from Earth they never appear far from the Sun in the sky (Mercury within about 28 degrees, Venus within about 47 degrees).

4. About 47 degrees.

5. Opposition is when an outer planet is opposite the Sun in our sky. It rises at sunset, is up all night, and is at its closest and brightest.

6. The planets all orbit the Sun in nearly the same flat plane, which is the plane of the ecliptic.