AS101 Study Guide - Final Guide: Orbital Inclination, Orbital Speed, Surface Gravity
Document Summary
Venus - planet number 2 - closest to the earth - heaven or. Venus"s orbital radius averages 0. 723 au and has an orbital eccentricity of 0. 0068, almost a perfect circle. As a planet closer to the sun than earth, we, on earth, see it as always being fairly close to the sun and so view it best during the early morning or late evening. Its greatest elongation (both eastern and western) is 47 away from sun. During an inferior conjunction it is possible to have a solar transit of venus. Not every such conjunction results in a transit as its planetary orbit is inclined at 3. 39 to ecliptic. The most recent one was last june 6: the next on will be in 2117 (good luck!). Solar transits by venus are separated by more than a century and always come in pairs, about 8 years apart.
