How is that an alignment though? It’s not like MacGuyver or Lara Croft is going to have to stop some baddies from assembling ancient artefacts in a particular room to unleash arcane terrors into the world just because the planets are sort-of visible together in the sky.
They’re in orbits at different distances from the sun and so take different times to complete an orbit. Also we’re closer to the sun than most, so circling faster, and further than Venus and Mercury so circling slower, so sometimes some planets appear to be going the wrong way along the ecliptic
Some planets are in resonance with others (for example orbiting 3 times for the other’s 4)
So sometimes other planets are on the other side of the sun, sometimes they’re on this side of the sun but the opposite side of the sky
Aren’t they always on the plane of the elliptic though?
Yeah but you can’t always see them all together.
How is that an alignment though? It’s not like MacGuyver or Lara Croft is going to have to stop some baddies from assembling ancient artefacts in a particular room to unleash arcane terrors into the world just because the planets are sort-of visible together in the sky.
It’s an alignment because if you look up at it they’re in a line. That’s what alignment means, Lara Croft and ancient artifacts are optional.
But only in the same sense that they always are! You just can’t see it because of your mortal limitations.
I think that actually was a plot in a MacGyver TV movie I vaguely remember from the 90s.
What is the reason, is it because sometimes some of them are on the other side from the sun?
They’re in orbits at different distances from the sun and so take different times to complete an orbit. Also we’re closer to the sun than most, so circling faster, and further than Venus and Mercury so circling slower, so sometimes some planets appear to be going the wrong way along the ecliptic
Some planets are in resonance with others (for example orbiting 3 times for the other’s 4)
So sometimes other planets are on the other side of the sun, sometimes they’re on this side of the sun but the opposite side of the sky
ecliptic, yes they are