🔍 Key Concepts

• inferior vs. superior planets (planets inside Earth’s orbit vs. outside) • the meaning of inferior conjunction in celestial navigation/astronomy • which planets’ orbits lie inside Earth’s orbit around the Sun

💭 Think About

• First, separate the listed planets into those that orbit closer to the Sun than Earth and those that orbit farther from the Sun than Earth. • Ask yourself: For a planet to be at inferior conjunction, where must it be located relative to the Earth and the Sun on a straight line? • Consider: Can a planet whose orbit is outside Earth’s orbit ever come between the Earth and the Sun?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which of the options are inner planets (orbital radius smaller than Earth’s). • Check the definition: at inferior conjunction, the planet is directly between Earth and the Sun. • Confirm that only planets with orbits inside Earth’s orbit can physically achieve that alignment.