superior planet

/səˌpɪriər ˌplænət/

Other forms: superior planets

Definitions of superior planet

1. noun

   any of the planets whose orbit lies outside the earth's orbit
   examples:

   Jupiter

   the largest planet and the 5th from the sun; has many satellites and is one of the brightest objects in the night sky

   Red Planet

   a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color

   Neptune

   a giant planet with a ring of ice particles; the 8th planet from the sun is the most remote of the gas giants

   Pluto

   a small planet and the farthest known planet from the sun; it has the most elliptical orbit of all the planets

   Saturn

   a giant planet that is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles; the 6th planet from the sun

   Uranus

   a giant planet with a ring of ice particles; the 7th planet from the sun has a blue-green color and many satellites

   type of:

   major planet, planet

   (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction