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WIKIPEDIA;
MOON ;Perigee: 363,104 km (0.0024 AU) Apogee: 405,696 km (0.0027 AU) Semi-major axis: 384,399 km (0.00257 AU) Orbital circumference: 2,413,402 km (0.016 AU)
Eccentricity: 0.0549 Sidereal month: 27.321 582 d (27 d 7 h 43.1 min) Synodic month: 29.530 588 d (29 d 12 h 44.0 min) Anomalistic month: 27.554 550 d Draconic month:
27.212 221 d Tropical month: 27.321 582 d Avg. orbital speed: 1.022 km/s (2286 mph) Max. orbital speed: 1.082 km/s (2420 mph) Min. orbital speed: 0.968 km/s (2165 mph)
Inclination: 5.145 to ecliptic (between 18.29 and 28.58 to Earth's equator) Longitude of ascending node: regressing, 1 revolution in 18.6 years Argument of perigee:
progressing, 1 revolution in 8.85 years Sidereal rotation period: 27.321 582 d
MARS; Aphelion distance: 249,228,730 km (154.863,553 mi) 1.665 991 16 AU Perihelion distance: 206,644,545 km (128,402,967 mi) 1.381 333 46 AU Sidereal period:
686.9600 day (1.8808 yr) Synodic period: 779.96 day (2.135 yr) Avg. orbital speed: 24.077 km/s (53,859 mi/h) Max. orbital speed: 26.499 km/s (59,277 mi/h) Min. orbital
speed: 21.972 km/s (49,150 mi/h) Inclination: 1.850 61 (5.65 to Sun's equator) Longitude of ascending node: 49.578 54 Argument of perihelion: 286.462 30 Sidereal
rotation period: 1.025 957 day (24.622 962 h)
MERCURY; Aphelion distance: 69,817,079 km 0.466 698 35 AU Perihelion distance: 46,001,272 km 0.307 499 51 AU Semi-major axis: 57,909,176 km 0.387 098 93 AU
Orbital circumference: ~360,000,000 km (2.406 AU) Eccentricity: 0.205 630 69 Sidereal period: 87.969 34 day (0.240 846 9 a) Synodic period: 115.8776 day Avg.
Inclination: 7.004 87 (3.38 to Suns equator) Longitude of ascending node: 48.331 67 Argument of perihelion: 29.124 78 Sidereal rotation period: 58.6462 day (58 day
15.5088 h) the

greatest elongation (west or east), for Mercury, is between 18 and 28;This value varies because the
orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles.
JUPITER; Aphelion distance: 816,620,000 km 5.46 AU 507,000,000 miles Perihelion distance: 740,520,000 km 4.95 AU 460,280,000 miles Sidereal period: 4,332.589 day
(11.862 yr) Synodic period: 398.88 day Avg. Inclination: 1.30530 (6.09 to Sun's equator) Longitude of ascending node: 100.55615 Argument of perihelion: 14.75385
Sidereal rotation period: 9.9250 h
VENUS; Aphelion distance: 109,941,849 km 0.728 231 28 AU 67,693,488 miles Perihelion distance: 108,476,002 km 0.718 432 70 AU 66,782,651 miles Sidereal period:
224.700 69 day (0.615 197 0 yr) Synodic period: 583.92 day Avg. Inclination: 3.394 71 (3.86 to Sun's equator) Longitude of ascending node: 76.670 69 Argument of
perihelion: 54.852 29 Sidereal rotation period: 243.0185 day the

greatest elongation (west or east), for Venus between 45 and 47.

This value varies because the orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles.
SATURN; Aphelion distance: 1,503,983,449 km 10.053 508 40 AU 934,534,231 mi Perihelion distance: 1,349,467,375 km 9.020 632 24 AU 838,522,163 mi Sidereal period:
10,756.1995 days (29.46 years) Synodic period: 378.10 days Avg. Inclination: 2.484 46 (5.51 to Sun's equator) Longitude of ascending node: 113.71532811 04 Argument
of perihelion: 338.716 90

The sidereal year is the time taken for the Sun to return to the same position in respect to the stars of the celestial sphere. It is the orbital period of Earth, equal to
365.25636042 mean solar days (that is 366.25636042 earth rotations or sidereal days). A true cycle will always compare two bodily objects that differ mathematically by
exactly 1. The sidereal year is 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer than the tropical year.
The Sun and the stars cannot be seen at the same time; looking every dawn at the eastern sky, the last stars seen appearing are not always the same. In a week or two an
upward shift can be noted. As an example, in July in the Northern Hemisphere, Orion cannot be seen in the dawn sky, but in August it becomes visible. In a year, all the
constellations rotate through the entire sky.
Looking regularly at the sky before dawn, this motion is much more noticeable and easier to measure than the north-south shift of the sunrise point in the horizon, which
defines the tropical year on which the Gregorian calendar is based. This is the reason many cultures started their year on the first day a particular special star, (Sirius, for
instance), could be seen in the East at dawn. In Hesiod's Works and Days, the times of the year for sowing, harvest, and so on are given by reference to the first visibility of
stars.
Up to the time of Hipparchus, the years measured by the stars were thought to be exactly as long as the tropical years. In fact, sidereal years are very slightly longer than
tropical years. The difference is caused by the precession of the equinoxes. One sidereal year is roughly equal to 1 + 1/26000 or 1.000039 tropical years.
The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit.
There are several kinds of orbital periods for objects around the Sun:
The sidereal period is the time that it takes the object to make one full orbit around the Sun, relative to the stars. This is considered to be an object's true orbital
period. = sun 360 zodiac course = 365..25636042 mean solar days = 1577517800/4320000= 365.16615740740740740740740740741
The synodic period is the time that it takes for the object to reappear at the same point in the sky, relative to the Sun, as observed from Earth; i.e. returns to the
same elongation. This is the time that elapses between two successive conjunctions with the Sun and is the object's Earth-apparent orbital period. The synodic
period differs from the sidereal period since Earth itself revolves around the Sun.
The draconitic period is the time that elapses between two passages of the object at its ascending node, the point of its orbit where it crosses the ecliptic from the
southern to the northern hemisphere. It differs from the sidereal period because the object's line of nodes typically precesses or recesses slowly.
The anomalistic period is the time that elapses between two passages of the object at its perihelion, the point of its closest approach to the Sun. It differs from the
sidereal period because the object's semimajor axis typically precesses or recesses slowly.
The tropical period, finally, is the time that elapses between two passages of the object at right ascension zero. It is slightly shorter than the sidereal period because
the vernal point precesses.

[edit] Relation between sidereal and synodic period

Copernicus devised a mathematical formula to calculate a planet's sidereal period from its synodic period.

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Using the abbreviations
E = the sidereal period of Earth (a sidereal year, not the same as a tropical year)
P = the sidereal period of the other planet
S = the synodic period of the other planet (as seen from Earth)
During the time S, the Earth moves over an angle of (360/E)S (assuming a circular orbit) and the planet moves (360/P)S.
Let us consider the case of an inferior planet, i.e. a planet that will complete one orbit more than Earth before the two return to the same position relative to the Sun.

and using algebra we obtain

For a superior planet one derives likewise:

Generally, knowing the sidereal period of the other planet and the Earth, P and E, the synodic period can easily be derived:
,
which stands for both an inferior planet or superior planet.
The above formulae are easily understood by considering the angular velocities of the Earth and the object: the object's apparent angular velocity is its true (sidereal) angular
velocity minus the Earth's, and the synodic period is then simply a full circle divided by that apparent angular velocity.
Table of synodic periods in the Solar System, relative to Earth: Sid. P. (a) Syn. P. (a) Syn. P. (d)
Mercury
0.241
0.317
115.9
Venus
0.615
1.599
583.9
Earth
1

Moon
0.0748
0.0809
29.5306
Mars
1.881
2.135
780.0
1 Ceres
4.600
1.278
466.7
Jupiter
11.87
1.092
398.9
Saturn
29.45
1.035
378.1
Uranus
84.07
1.012
369.7
Neptune
164.9
1.006
367.5
134340 Pluto
248.1
1.004
366.7
136199 Eris
557
1.002
365.9
90377 Sedna
12050
1.00001
365.1
In the case of a planet's moon, the synodic period usually means the Sun-synodic period. That is to say, the time it takes the moon to run its phases, coming back to the same
solar aspect angle for an observer on the planet's surface the Earth's motion does not affect this value, because an Earth observer is not involved. For example, Deimos'
synodic period is 1.2648 days, 0.18% longer than Deimos' sidereal period of 1.2624 d.
[edit] Calculation
[edit] Small body orbiting a central body
In astrodynamics the orbital period

of a small body orbiting a central body in a circular or elliptical orbit is:

and
(standard gravitational parameter)
where: is length of orbit's semi-major axis (km),

is the standard gravitational parameter,

is the gravitational constant,

the mass of the central body (kg).

Note that for all ellipses with a given semi-major axis, the orbital period is the same, regardless of eccentricity.
For the Earth (and any other spherically symmetric body with the same average density) as central body we get
and for a body of water
p=the body of the planet.
Thus, as an alternative for using a very small number like G, the strength of universal gravity can be described using some reference material, like water: the orbital period for
an orbit just above the surface of a spherical body of water is 3 hours and 18 minutes. Conversely, this can be used as a kind of "universal" unit of time.
For the Sun as central body we simply get
T in years, with a in astronomical units. This is the same as Kepler's Third Law
[edit] Two bodies orbiting each other
In celestial mechanics when both orbiting bodies' masses have to be taken into account the orbital period

can be calculated as follows:

where:

is the sum of the semi-major axes of the ellipses in which the centers of the bodies move, or equivalently, the semi-major axis of the ellipse in which one body
moves, in the frame of reference with the other body at the origin (which is equal to their constant separation for circular orbits),
and

are the masses of the bodies,

is the gravitational constant.

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Note that the orbital period is independent of size: for a scale model it would be the same, when densities are the same (see also Orbit#Scaling in gravity).
In a parabolic or hyperbolic trajectory the motion is not periodic, and the duration of the full trajectory is infinite.

Sidereal time vs solar time. Above left, a distant star (the small red circle) and the Sun are at culmination, on the local meridian. Centre: only the distant star is at culmination
(a mean sidereal day). Right: few minutes later the Sun is on the local meridian again. A solar day is complete
Sidereal time is time measured by the apparent diurnal motion of the vernal equinox, which is very close to, but not identical with, the motion of stars. They differ by the
precession of the vernal equinox relative to the stars.
Solar time is measured by the apparent diurnal motion of the sun, and local noon in solar time is defined as the moment when the sun is at its highest point in the sky (exactly
due south in the northern hemisphere and due north in the southern hemisphere). The average time taken for the sun to return to its highest point is 24 hours.
However, the stars appear to move in a slightly different way. During the course of one day, the earth has moved a short distance along its orbit around the sun, and so must
rotate a small extra angular distance before the sun reaches its highest point. The stars, however, are so far away that the earth's movement along its orbit makes a generally
negligible difference to their apparent direction (see, however parallax), and so they return to their highest point in slightly less than 24 hours. A mean sidereal day is about
23h 56m 4.1s in length. However, due to variations in the rotation rate of the Earth the rate of an ideal sidereal clock deviates from any simple multiple of a civil clock. In
practice, the difference is kept track of by the difference UTCUT1, which is measured by radio telescopes and kept on file and available to the public at the IERS and at the
United States Naval Observatory.
Sidereal time is defined as the hour angle of the vernal equinox. When the meridian of the vernal equinox is directly overhead, local sidereal time is 00:00. Greenwich Sidereal
time is the hour angle of the vernal equinox at the prime meridian at Greenwich, England; local values differ according to longitude. When one moves eastward 15 in
longitude, sidereal time is larger by one hour (note that it wraps around at 24 hours). Unlike computing local solar time, differences are counted to the accuracy of
measurement, not just in whole hours. Greenwich sidereal time and UT1 differ from each other by a constant rate (1.00273790935). Sidereal time is used at astronomical
observatories because sidereal time makes it very easy to work out which astronomical objects will be observable at a given time. Objects are located in the night sky using
right ascension and declination relative to the celestial equator (analogous to longitude and latitude on Earth), and when sidereal time is equal to an object's right ascension, the
object will be at its highest point in the sky, or culmination, at which time it is best placed for observation, as atmospheric extinction is minimised.
Julian year (astronomy)
In astronomy, a Julian year (symbol: a) is a unit of measurement of time defined as exactly 365.25 days of 86,400 SI seconds each, totalling 31,557,600 seconds. That is the
average length of the year in the Julian calendar used in Western societies in previous centuries, and for which the unit is named. Nevertheless, because a Julian year measures
duration rather than designates date, the Julian year does not correspond to years in the Julian calendar or any other calendar. Nor does it correspond to the many other ways of
defining a year (for which, see Year).
a fundamental unit of measurement, nor is it sanctioned in the International System of Units (SI). Nevertheless, astronomers and other scientists use it for convenience to
measure lengthy durations, which would be unwieldy to express as a number of days. Since the Julian year corresponds to the duration of what most people think of as a year,
its use also aids comprehension. For example, it is easier to express and to comprehend the orbital period of Pluto as 248 Julian years (248 a) than as 90,590 days (90,590 d).
For this reason, its use is recommended by International Astronomical Union (IAU).[1]
The Julian year is the basis of the definition of light-year as a unit of measurement of distance.
One hundred Julian years (36,525 days) are called a Julian century. One thousand Julian years (365,250 days) are called a Julian millennium. These units are used in
calculating Solar System ephemerides.
] Epochs
In astronomy, an epoch specifies a precise moment in time. Julian years are the basis for naming so-called standard epochs. For practical reasons, a new standard epoch is
chosen about every 50 years.
The standard epoch in use today is Julian epoch J2000.0. It is synchronized to exactly 12:00 TT (close to but not exactly Greenwich mean noon) on January 1, 2000 in the
Gregorian (not Julian) calendar. Future epochs can be calculated and named according to the number of days since then divided by 365.25. For example, the future epoch
J2100.0 will be exactly 36,525 days (one Julian century) from J2000.0.
Because Julian years are not exactly the same length as years on the Gregorian calendar, astronomical epochs will diverge noticeably from the Gregorian calendar in a few
hundred years.
The positions of celestial objects and events, as measured from earth, change over time. Therefore, when measuring or predicting celestial positions, the epoch to which they
pertain must be specified.
] Julian calendar distinguished
The Julian year, being a measure of duration, should not be confused with historical years in the Julian calendar. In ordinary writing, astronomers follow the same calendar
conventions that are accepted in the world community: They use the Gregorian calendar for events since its introduction on 15 October 1582, and the Julian calendar for
events before that date.
Julian day distinguished
A Julian year should not be confused with the Julian day (also Julian day number or JDN), which is also used in astronomy. Despite the similarity of names, there is no
connection between the two. A Julian day is not a unit of time. Rather, it is a way of expressing a date as the integer number of days that have elapsed since a reference date
called the initial epoch. The Julian day uniquely specifies a date without reference to its day, month, or year in any particular calendar.
it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit.

Elongation
This diagram shows the elongations (or angle) of the Earth's position from the Sun.

Elongation is an astronomical term that refers to the angle between the Sun and a planet, as viewed from Earth.
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.
Refer to astronomical tables and websites such as www.heavens-above.com to see when the planets reaches their next elongations.
Ecliptic coordinate system.
The ecliptic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the ecliptic for its fundamental plane. The ecliptic is the path that the sun appears to follow across the
sky over the course of a year. It is also the projection of the Earth's orbital plane onto the celestial sphere. The latitudinal angle is called the ecliptic latitude or celestial latitude
(denoted ), measured positive towards the north. The longitudinal angle is called the ecliptic longitude or celestial longitiude (denoted ), measured eastwards from 0 to
360. Like right ascension in the equatorial coordinate system, the origin for ecliptic longitude is the vernal equinox. This choice makes the coordinates of the fixed stars
subject to shifts due to the precession, so that always a reference epoch should be specified. Usually epoch 2000 is taken, but the instantaneous equinox of the day is possible
too.
This coordinate system can be particularly useful for charting solar system objects. Most planets (except Mercury), dwarf planets, and many small solar system bodies have
orbits with small inclinations to the ecliptic plane, and therefore their ecliptic latitude is always small. Because of the planets' small deviation from the plane of the ecliptic,
ecliptic coordinates were used historically to compute their positions. [1]
] Conversion between celestial coordinate systems
In the formulas below [2]
and are the ecliptic longitude and latitude, respectively;

and are the right ascension and declination, respectively;

Apply a R->P conversion taking the cos cos as the X value and the sin cos as the Y value

= 23.439 281 is the Earth's axial tilt.

[edit] Conversion to equatorial coordinates
Declination and right ascension are obtained from:
sin = sin sin cos + cos sin
cos cos = cos cos
sin cos = cos sin cos - sin sin
All three equations must in general be satisfied because cos and sin do not specify their argument uniquely.
[edit] Conversion to ecliptic coordinates
sin = cos sin - sin cos sin
cos cos = cos cos
sin cos = sin sin + sin cos cos
[edit] Caution
One may be tempted to 'simplify' the last two equations in each set, but in general this is not a wise policy because cos and sin do not specify their argument uniquely, while
standard implementations of inverse trigonometric functions assume the angle to be in a restricted range. For example, to obtain in the first set, one could divide out the cos
leaving one expression for tan only. Or, one may try to discard the last one equation altogether, only using the second in the form cos = cos cos / cos . While this
works in some straightforward cases, it can be misleading in general. For example cos -1 gives angles between 0 and 180 in most implementations, while can take on all
angles up to 360. sin-1 and tan-1 are also limited to a 180 range. All these functions are also very prone to rounding errors near their limits.
In practice, for bodies close to the ecliptic, one can infer the right quadrant of as it is the same as (but beware exceptions near the poles!). This, however, is manual
tweaking, and not easily programmed for more general applications.
[edit] An algorithm
If the calculation is to be done with an electronic pocket calculator, it is best to use a rectangular to polar (R->P) and polar to rectangular (P->R) function, which are found on
most scientific calculators. They avoid all the above problems and give us an extra sanity check as well.
The algorithm for the ecliptic to equatorial transformation then becomes as follows.
Calculate the terms right of the = sign of the 3 equations given above
The angle part of the answer is the right ascension, an angle over the full range of 0 to 360 (or -180 to +180 etc.), which after division by 15 gives the hours.
Apply a second R->P conversion taking the radius part of the last answer as the X and the sin of the first equation as the Y value
The angle part of the answer is the declination, an angle between -90 and +90

The radius part of the answer must be 1 exactly, if not you have made an error.
Similarly for the equatorial to ecliptic transformation