Apparent retrograde motion is the motion of a planetary or other body in a direction opposite to that of other bodies within its system as observed from a particular vantage point. Direct motion or prograde motion is motion in the same direction as other bodies.
While the terms direct and prograde are equivalent in this context, the former is the traditional term in astronomy. Prograde was first seen in an abstract of an astronomy-related professional article in 1963.
Read more about Apparent Retrograde Motion: Etymology, Retrograde Motion in Astrology
Famous quotes containing the words apparent and/or motion:
“As I confronted her, the changes grew less apparent to me, her identity stronger. She was there, in the full vigour of her personality, battered but not diminished, looking at me, speaking to me in the husky, breathy voice I remembered so well.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“Too many Broadway actors in motion pictures lost their grip on success—had a feeling that none of it had ever happened on that sun-drenched coast, that the coast itself did not exist, there was no California. It had dropped away like a hasty dream and nothing could ever have been like the things they thought they remembered.”
—Mae West (1892–1980)