superior planet

American  

[suh-peer-ee-er plan-it] / səˈpɪər i ər ˈplæn ɪt /

noun

Astronomy.

1. (relative to Earth) any of the five planets whose orbits are farther from the sun, namely, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune: before its reclassification as a dwarf planet in 2006, Pluto was included among the superior planets.

2. (relative to a given planet) any planet whose orbit is farther from the sun.

   If you lived on Mercury, you would consider Venus a superior planet.

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superior planet British  

noun

1. any of the planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and (formerly) Pluto) whose orbit lies outside that of the earth

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superior planet Scientific  

1. Any of the planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, whose orbits lie beyond that of Earth. Because these planets never come between the Earth and Sun, they do not exhibit crescent phases, only full and gibbous. Unlike the inferior planets Mercury and Venus, superior planets rise in the east and set in the west in the normal pattern of celestial objects.

2. Compare inferior planet See also inner planet

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Etymology

Origin of superior planet

First recorded in 1575–85