Topic 5- Solar System Observations

Viewing the Sun

• When viewing the Sun, you should never use: binoculars, telescopes, sunglasses or scratched/broken solar filter/shades
• The safest way to observe the Sun is by pinhole projection. By piercing a small hole into card, the image of the Sun is projected onto paper

Ecliptic

• The ecliptic is the path that the Sun, planets and most bodies follow. It is an imaginary plane between the Sun and Earth
• The Zodiacal Band is the narrow part of the sky where the Sun crosses over 13 constellations called the Zodiac

Motion of Planets

• Direct motion is when a superior planet moves across the sky east to west
• A stationary point is where a planet doesn't appear to move at all
• Retrograde is when a…