CHAT: Visible planets (was: Corpses)

Isidora Zamora scripsit:

> They also worship whichever of the planets are visible to the naked
> eye.  (Can anyone tell me which those are?  I've seen Mars and Venus
> myself, but I don't know if any others are visible without a
> telescope.)
Jupiter and Saturn are easily visible; indeed, Jupiter is more prominent
than Mars, being brighter and whiter.  Mercury is technically visible,
but it never gets very far from the Sun, so it's hard to catch sight of.
Uranus is visible, but with an orbital period of 84 years, pre-telescopic
peoples never identified it as a planet.  Neptune and Pluto are completely
beyond naked-eye astronomy.

--
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  www.ccil.org/~cowan  www.reutershealth.com
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing
on my shoulders."
        --Hal Abelson

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