Opposition (planets) Sun. An inferior conjunction occurs when the two planets align on the same side of the Sun. At inferior conjunction, the superior planet is "in opposition" to the Sun as seen from the inferior planet (see the diagram). Opposition (planets) In positional astronomy, two astronomical objects are said to be in opposition when they are on opposite sides of the celestial sphere, as observed from a given body (usually Earth). A planet (or asteroid or comet) is said to be "in opposition" when it is in opposition to the Sun. Because most orbits in the Solar System are nearly coplanar
Gustav Holst wrath. In 1912 Holst composed two psalm settings, in which he experimented with plainsong; the same year saw the enduringly popular "St Paul's Suite" (a "gay but retrogressive" piece according to Dickinson), and the failure of his large scale orchestral work "Phantastes". Holst conceived the idea of "The Planets" in 1913, partly as a result of his interest in astrology, and also from his determination, despite the failure of "Phantastes", to produce a large-scale orchestral work. The chosen format may have been influenced by Schoenberg's "Fünf Orchesterstücke", and shares something of the aesthetic, Matthews suggests, of Debussy's "Nocturnes" or "La