109K views · 3.3K reactions | * Mercury’s retrograde motion * This...

Jupiter and Saturn go retrograde 🪐 This video explains the apparent retrograde motion of the outer planets using Jupiter and Saturn as examples. Saturn goes retrograde for about 4.5 months every year. Jupiter also moves “backwards” for approximately 4 months annually. 📖 Retrograde motion is an optical illusion caused by differences in the planets’ orbital speeds. When a planet seems to reverse its direction in the sky, it’s called retrograde motion (from the Latin word retrogradus – "going bac

878K views · 10K reactions | Planets usually move across our night...

Mercury's Retrograde Motion refers to an optical illusion that occurs when the planet appears to move backward in the sky, relative to the stars, due to the relative positions and speeds of Earth and Mercury. Mercury orbits the Sun faster than Earth, so as Earth overtakes Mercury in its orbit, it creates the illusion of Mercury reversing direction. This happens several times a year, but because Mercury is close to the Sun, it's often difficult to observe from Earth. The planet is typically too c