Interloper of the Venus Transit | Bad Astronomy

I figured I was done posting Venus Transit pictures, but I shouldve realized I hadnt heard from Thierry Legault yet. And as soon as I saw his name in my email Inbox this morning, and before I even opened it, I knew Id have at least one more picture to show you. Continue reading

Venus Transit LIVE | Bad Astronomy

The last Venus Transit for 105 years is happening in a few minutes as I write this it goes from roughly 22:00 June 5 to 05:00 June 6 UTC (check your local listings). Fraser Cain, Nicole Gugliucci, Pamela Gay, and I are hosting a live video chat of the transit with many amateur astronomers across the world! I am embedding it below: If you want to participate in the chat room, you need to 1) be signed up for Google+, b) circle Fraser Cain, and ) go to the live video chat post. [UPDATE (21:55 UTC): First view of Venus silhouetted against the Sun’s corona are coming in! This shot is in the far-ultraviolet, where the Sun’s thin atmosphere, called the corona, glows Continue reading

Transit of Venus Explained: The Stages of Today's Rare Sun Crossing

Today’s historic Venus transit is a marathon event lasting nearly seven hours, but skywatchers who don’t have that kind of time can break it down into a handful of key milestones. Venus treks across the sun’s face from Earth’s perspective today (June 5; June 6 in much of the Eastern Hemisphere), marking the last such Venus transit until 2117. Few people alive today will be around to see the next transit, which makes the rare celestial sight a premier event in the astronomical and skywatching communities. Continue reading