Venus and the Triply Ultraviolet Sun
Explanation:
An unusual type of solar eclipse occurred last year.
Usually it is the
Earth's Moon that
eclipses
the Sun.
Last June, most unusually, 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
above
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 solar eclipse 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.
