Saturn is the most distant of the planets visible without a telescope. Is there any way we could infer this from naked-eye observations? Explain. (Hint: Think about how Saturn's position on the celestial sphere must change over the course of weeks or months.)

Short Answer

Expert verified
Yes, it is possible to infer that Saturn is the furthest visible planet from naked-eye observations. This can be done by observing the relative speed of movement of the planets across the celestial sphere. Saturn, moving slower than other visible planets, can be inferred to be the farthest.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the movement of celestial bodies

To solve this problem, it is crucial to understand how celestial bodies, including Saturn, move through the night sky. Due to the rotation of the earth, it seems as though celestial bodies move across the sky from east to west. However, planets also move relative to the stars around the sun. This means that over several nights, the planet will be seen in a different location relative to the stars.
02

Understanding the correlation between distance and movement

The farther a planet is from the sun (and thus from the earth), the slower this planet seems to move across the celestial sphere. This apparent motion is caused by the fact that the further celestial bodies are, the longer they take to complete their orbit around the Sun and as a result, they move at a slower speed across the sky.
03

Application to Saturn

Applying the rule from step 2 to Saturn, which is the farthest planet from the Earth that can be seen with the naked eye, it can be inferred that Saturn would appear to move slower across the celestial sphere compared to other planets. Thus, by observing the relative movement of planets over time, we could infer that Saturn is the farthest visible planet.

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