Which planet in the solar system, does not show phases?
Question:
Answer:
The only planet which cannot show a phase is the one you're on. Planets closer to the sun show a full range of phases, those further away can only be gibbous or full.
All planets further from the sun than the earth, i.e., Mars through Pluto.
The old professor says: Depending on where you are located, all planets show phases. You just need to be further from the sun than they are. If you are observing from Earth, the inferior planets (those closer to the sun) would show phases. These would be Mercury and Venus.
The superior planets (those further from the sun than Earth) would always appear as full disks to those of us on Earth. It was this knowledge that enabled Galileo to conclude the sun did not go around the Earth and that Venus was going around the sun...not the Earth!
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