🔍 Key Concepts

• Evening star and planetary brightness hierarchy (Venus vs. Jupiter vs. Saturn vs. Mars) • What kind of line of position a planet gives when observed near the meridian versus well off the meridian • Geometry of a good three‑line fix (spread of azimuths, not too close together)

💭 Think About

• Think about which planet is normally the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon and how navigators typically identify it • Consider whether a single body sight can directly give you latitude, or whether it generally gives you a line of position at right angles to the azimuth • For a good three‑line fix using planets, what should be true about their positions and azimuth spread in the sky at civil twilight?

✅ Before You Answer

• Brightness order of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in typical observing conditions • Whether any single planet sight routinely gives a latitude line without being very near the meridian • For a three‑body fix, check if the bodies would likely have widely separated bearings (azimuths) at this time and place, or be clustered in roughly the same area of the sky