Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., Astronomers around the world looked to the sky last night and this
morning to observe Venus as it passed across the face of the Sun for the
last time this century. ESA’s Sun-watching space missions also tuned in
for the solar spectacular.
ESA’s microsatellite Proba-2, situated in low-Earth orbit, tracked Venus as it moved across the solar disc over a period of nearly seven hours. Venus appears to wobble thanks to the slight up-down motion of Proba-2 and the large distance between the satellite and the Sun.
ESA’s microsatellite Proba-2, situated in low-Earth orbit, tracked Venus as it moved across the solar disc over a period of nearly seven hours. Venus appears to wobble thanks to the slight up-down motion of Proba-2 and the large distance between the satellite and the Sun.
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HI-RES JPEG (Size: 1795 kb) Transit of Venus as seen from the Arctic island of Spitsbergen.Credits: Michel Breitfellner and Miguel Perez Ayucar/ESAC
Of particular interest was the moment of first contact – when Venus
first appeared to touch the limb of the solar disc – resulting in a tiny
dip in solar brightness. The dip associated with Venus’ thick
atmosphere, even before Venus had fully entered the solar disc, will
help exoplanet scientists study the atmospheres of rocky Earth-sized
planets outside of our Solar System.
Another phenomenon observed during the transit included the ‘black drop’
effect – the small black teardrop shape that appears to connect Venus
to the limb of the Sun just after it has fully entered the solar disc
and again later, when it begins to leave the disc.
Astronomers were also keen to capture the aureole, an arc of light seen
around the planet’s disc during the first and last minutes of the
transit. It was first observed during the transit of 1761 and revealed
that Venus has an atmosphere.
Credits: Michel Breitfellner and Miguel Perez Ayucar/ESAC
ESA’s teams in Svalbard enjoyed the transit under the midnight sun,
in between cloudy spells. From ESA’s Space Astronomy Center (ESAC),
Michel Breitfellner and Miguel Perez Ayucar observed the transit using
solar and optical telescopes equipped with cameras. An identical set of
instruments simultaneously streamed the transit from the other side of
the world in Canberra, Australia.
Despite interruptions from cloud, it was fantastic to observe nearly the
full duration of the transit under the midnight sun in such spectacular
surroundings,” said Pérez Ayúcar.
Over the coming weeks, scientists and astronomers from around the
world will compare their results with each other and with data collected
by space-based observatories, including ESA’s Venus Express.
“We’re looking forward to comparing the ground-based data with that
collected by Venus Express during the time of the transit to provide a
complete view of Venus’ rapidly changing atmosphere,” added ESA’s Venus
Express project scientist Håkan Svedhem.
Contact for further informationESA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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