https://sol24.net/data/html/SOHO/C3/96H/VIDEO/

The stage is set by the change in the position of the stars from left to right of the Sun in response to the orbital motion of the Earth. This sets the Sun as a fixed reference for both the orbital motion of the Earth and that of Mercury as that planet
closer to the Sun overtakes the slower-moving Earth at our mutual closest positions relative to the Sun.

https://www.theplanetstoday.com/

Mercury will be seen moving faster than the change in the position of the stars because it moves faster than the Earth so this relative motion would be registered as retrograde motion and likewise Venus.

I recently believed that others got a handle on the difference between the faster-moving and slower-moving planets seen from a moving Earth using two different frameworks but it turns out not to be the case-

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8r5PHKJMfw0

The direct/retrograde motions of Mercury require no hypothesis when using a tracking satellite with the Earth as it is a standard observation of a planet running back-and-forth around our parent star in much the same way as Jupiter's moons run circuits
around their parent planet along with many different adjustments to that analogy in order to demonstrate it on a planetary scale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcrBAuLBXag

The fixed star background gauges the motions of the slower-moving planets from a faster-moving Earth represents the older means to account for direct/retrograde motions-

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap011220.html

Apologies for believing that someone else understood why partitioning of perspectives is necessary to appreciate our solar system structure when it was not the case.

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