Pictures of the Venus Transit and Festivities

Venus transiting the sun as it sets behind the telescopes of Kitt Peak.  Image (c) 2012 David A Harvey, used with permission.

Tuesday afternoon, the planet Venus passed in front of the Sun as seen by the Earth.  (If you've been reading this blog, you already know that).  The next transit of Venus will happen on December 10-11, 2117 (my birthday, though I don't expect to see it).

Here at Texas A&M University - Commerce, we had an open house at our observatory.  Roughly 150 people came, which is absolutely amazing.  We had to fight some clouds - the transit started behind a thunderstorm, and the last hour that the sun was still up it was hidden behind clouds, and there were enough clouds we closed down early and didn't stay up to view the night sky.  But those who braved the heat and waited out the clouds were treated to quite the spectacle.

In case you missed the transit because of clouds, work, school, sleep or indifference, here are some pictures, both from us and from others.  Picture sources are indicated in the caption.  You may feel free to use any images labeled as being from NASA (here are their terms of use), and you may use any images labeled as from me as long as you attribute them and don't use them for commercial purposes (my terms of use).

Venus neareth

Venus as seen by the sun-observing satellite SOHO.  In this picture, the sun is blocked by a disk, and the white circle indicates the location of the Sun.  The trails on either side of Venus are artifacts - the planet is so bright, it dazzles the camera.  Image Credit: ESA/NASA

The planet Venus is only four hours away from its date crossing the face of the Sun.  Here are some last minute links and reminders:

• Do you like old radio shows?  Relic Radio has posted an episode of a 1957 science fiction show called The Merchant of Venus in celebration of the transit.
• Want to see the transit in person?  NASA's Sun-Earth Day website has a link to events around the globe.
• Cloudy or night where you are?  Watch the transit online!  Here are a handful of links to webcasts; I'm sure there are many, many more:
• NASA EDGE broadcasting from Mauna Kea, Hawaii, starting at 9:45pm UTC (5:45pm Eastern Daylight Time)
• Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network will broadcast from Haleakala in Hawaii
• The SLOOH SpaceCamera with images from around the world
• Live in northeast Texas?  Come to our public viewing at Texas A&M University - Commerce.
• In the DC area?  Check out a Venus viewing at NASA Goddard Visitor Center.  I know a couple of people there, so feel free to give them a hard time.
• (Added later) SAFETY FIRST!!  Do not, under any circumstances, look at the sun without appropriate safety equipment.  Sunglasses (even multiple pairs) are NOT safe.  Here is a list of safe and unsafe ways to view the transit from transitofvenus.org

Modern transit science

How the Kepler Mission detects planets around other stars.  Image Credit: NASA

The last transit of Venus across the sun for 105.5 years begins in less than 24 hours.  As I wrote last time, past transits were a scientific bonanza, allowing astronomers to determine the size of the solar system and, eventually, distances to other stars.  But in a time when we have spacecraft orbiting Venus, can a transit still provide a scientific return?

The short answer is yes.  We don't expect to learn any groundbreaking new facts about Venus, the Sun, or the Solar System.  But we can use the fact that we already know so much about these objects to make use of this transit by testing our techniques to study planets around other stars.