Elongation (astronomy)

Elongation (astronomy)

In astronomy, a planet's elongation is the angle between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point. The greatest elongation of a given planet occurs when this inner planet’s position, in its orbital path to the Sun, is at tangent to the observer on Earth. Given the planets able to elongate are well within the area of Earth's orbit of the Sun, observation of such a phenomena should not pose that much a challenge, compared to deep sky objects, for example. When a planet is at its greatest elongation, it is farthest from the Sun as viewed from Earth, so its view is also best at that point.

When an inferior planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation. When an inferior planet is visible before sunrise, it is near its greatest western elongation. The value of the greatest elongation (west or east), for Mercury, is between 18° and 28°; and for Venus between 45° and 47°. This value varies because the orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles. Another minor contributor to this inconsistency is orbital inclination: each planet's orbit is in a slightly different plane.

Refer to astronomical tables and websites such as heavens-above to see when the planets reach their next maximum elongations.