Venus and the Triply Ultraviolet Sun
Explanation:
This was a very unusual type of solar eclipse.
Typically, it is the
Earth's Moon that
eclipses the Sun.
In 2012, though, the planet
Venus took a turn.
Like a
solar eclipse by the Moon, the
phase of Venus became a continually thinner
crescent as Venus became increasingly better
aligned with the Sun.
Eventually the alignment became perfect and the
phase of Venus dropped to zero.
The
dark spot of Venus crossed our parent star.
The situation could technically be labeled a Venusian
annular eclipse with an extraordinarily large
ring of fire.
Pictured here during the occultation, the Sun was imaged in three colors of
ultraviolet light by the Earth-orbiting
Solar Dynamics Observatory,
with the dark region toward the right corresponding to a
coronal hole.
Hours later, as Venus continued in its orbit, a
slight crescent phase appeared again.
The next Venusian transit across the Sun will occur in
2117.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
