From left to right (sun to outer solar system), the objects represented are: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
The added bonus of the clear skies here in Axarquia is that, along with the daily blue sky and sunshine, we have a clear view of the night sky and planets.
With the aid of a simple pair of binoculars, there are wonderful close-ups of the moon. Whilst, through a modest telescope, we are able to see the moons of Jupiter, the rings around Saturn, the phases of Venus and transits of Venus and Mercury. I am constantly amazed when friends, of all nationalities, who visit at night declare that they have never had the opportunity to look at the sky in detail before.
For newcomers to planet spotting, a good hint is that the planets always travel within a few degrees of the path of the sun. The path that the sun appears to travel against the star background is called the ecliptic. It marks the centre of the band of sky within which the moon and planets are found. This area is known as the zodiac. The ecliptic passes through the 13 zodiacal constellations of Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius. Ophiuchus does not appear in the astrologer's zodiac although the planets spend more time in it than in Scorpio. Astrologers use a different zodiac from astronomers for reasons explained in the notes on precession.
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