Abstract
Before the invention of the telescope the only planets known were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Their true natures remained unknown, because they appeared like stars to the unaided eye. These planets could only be detected by their brightnesses and their movements relative to the stars. In fact the word planet means “wanderer”.
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© 1997 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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North, G. (1997). The Inferior Planets. In: Astronomy Explained. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0901-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0901-3_7
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-76136-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0901-3
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