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| Photo by Jan Herold |
Venus will be transiting the Sun today (June 5, 2012). This astronomical event is fairly rare. In fact, today is only the seventh time Venus has transited the Sun since the telescope was invented. In addition to being a once-in-a-lifetime event, the transit will allow astronomers the opportunity to capture some valuable data and make important observations. Do a little research about what astronomers hope to learn from today's transit.
- What research questions will astronomers be pursuing during the transit?
- Why can some of this data only be obtained during a transit?
- How is a transit related to an eclipse?
Post your answers to these questions, and feel free to comment on previous comments as well.
Well we will not be able to see the Venus's whole trip across the sun because the sun will set before it has completely crossed it. Also, it may be hard to see due to wildfires in other parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree we would not actually be able to see the whole trip because the sun would set, but in theory, could we see it by traveling to the other hemisphere of the earth and changing our perspective, so the sun would be visible?
DeleteThat is a very good point Emily D. It seems like we would be able to just have other astronomers in another part of the world watch the part that we can't see. But, it is impossible for one person to see Venus' whole trip.
DeleteAfter my research I discovered that thought the many years that astronomers have seen this Venus transit they use the transit to help refine the astronomical unit, the measurement between sun and earth. But now with recent technology astronomers don't have to wait for this Venus transit. Now in June 2012 it will be the FIRST time we will be able to photograph the transit in space.
ReplyDeleteI agree that astronomers used the transit to answer the question of the measurement between the sun and the earth. Pictures of space and objects in space always interest me, so I am for sure going to look online and see if there are pictures up of tonight's once in a lifetime event!
DeleteI also agree that astronomers used the transit to answer the question of the measurement between the sun and the earth. They did so by utilizing the parallax method and Kepler's law of planetary motion, and made their first estimate in 1639, the first time the transit could be viewed with a telescope. This first estimate was just less than 2/3 the actual distance, but they improved upon it with further transits and came to a very close estimate in 1769.
DeleteSeveral science experiments are planned to happen during the Venus transit including studies that should help in the search for habitable planets beyond Earth. NASA's Kepler space telescope, are being used to find so-called extra solar planets that pass in front of their parent stars, much like Venus will pass by the sun. During the transit, astronomers will be able to measure Venus' thick atmosphere and use the data to develop techniques for measuring atmospheres around other planets.
ReplyDeleteI think some questions researchers may have can be answered during this transit because it is such a rare event, and it may be able to answer some questions about venus' actual distance from earth and the sun and venus' actual size, and the thickness of it's atmosphere compared to other planets' atmospheres.
ReplyDeleteAnd also from finding the distance from Earth to the Sun astronomers can determine the size of the Solar system.
Deletealso, aside from determining the size of the solar system, they could determine the distance to planets outside of our solar system.
DeleteA transit is closely related to an eclipse. This is because a transit occurs when it passes directly between the Sun and the Earth,when it then becomes visible against the solar disk. An eclipse also occurs when an object passes between the earth and the sun/moon.
ReplyDelete1. "...we can now use the transits to study things that had not been conceived of in the past."- Jay Pasachoff
ReplyDelete2. By measuring the depth of the dip in brightness and knowing the size of the star, scientists can determine the size or radius of the planet. The orbital period of the planet can be determined by measuring the elapsed time between transits. So those can be determined accurately only during transits.
3. By the moon, and because Partial lunar eclipse sets the stage for Venus transit
i agree with ness that that we will not see the whole transit because the sun will be setting. once the sun sets we wont see it because the suns light is showing where venus is.
ReplyDeletemason smeznik
i also agree with taylor g. sense this event is so rare astronomers will want to know many questions about this transit and wont have a lot of time to figure it out because it happens so quick. in class we also learned that this event has only happened 7 times sense the telescope has been invented and the next time this will happen is around 2100. so this event is very rare and is once in a life time to see.
ReplyDeletemason smeznik
A transit is related to an eclipse because a transit is when the object, in this case Venus, passes directly between the Sun and the Earth and is then visible against the solar disk. An eclipse is when an object, Venus, passes between the earth and the sun or moon. I looked outside a few times tonight in trying to see the small black spot on the sun, but I didn't have anything special to look through, so I couldn't see it. I was wondering if anyone else actually could see it?
ReplyDeleteTransits of Venus are rare because the planet's orbit is tilted just over three degrees from the plane of the solar system. This means that most of the time Venus passes above or below the sun's disk, as seen from Earth. Transits happen when a planet crosses between Earth and the sun. Also only Mercury and Venus, which are closer to the sun than our planet, can undergo this.The entire transit of Venus will be visible from Hawaii, Alaska, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, most of Australia, and parts of eastern Asia.
ReplyDeleteThe transit can also be used to understand exoplanets and their atmospheres. For example, careful study of the transit will allow astronomers to calculate Venus' diameter, which is already known. By comparing the two numbers, scientists may get a better idea of how accurately this technique can be used to estimate exoplanet sizes.
ReplyDeleteGood posts so far. Did anyone actually see the transit? I did not have access to my telescope, and so I had to settle for a live stream on the internet from a telescope in California (still pretty cool, thought).
ReplyDeleteI sat outside with my parents last night from around 6-6:30 pm and we never noticed anything different just by the human eye. Its no eclipse, thats for sure.
ReplyDeletefrom what i researched astronomers are using the transit to know the measurement between the sun and the earth.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read when a planet is in a "transit" like Venus was scientists can study things like the atmosphere and the characteristics of the planet that is in transit. Transits are the rarest predictable Event in the universe. A transit is when a planet crosses between the earth and the sun, whereas the eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. Probably the most important part of a transit is that it can be used to determine the distance the earth is from the sun and therefore the size of the universe.
ReplyDeleteQuestions asked by astronomers.
ReplyDelete•Will we be able to see Mercury's transit?
•Are we learning new things on the fly during this Venus Transit or will we have to wait a while for data to be analyzed?
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trying to see a transit is also like trying to view a solar eclipse. You have to be ready at a particular time, and you may have to travel far from home. For the transit of Venus, however, your exact location is much less critical than it is for a total solar eclipse.
A question that would be able to be answered after the transit is that astronomers can now predict with certainty the next major cosmic event to affect our galaxy, sun, and solar system: the titanic collision of our Milky Way galaxy with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. Another question that will be able to be answered is when the next transit will be.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking up some facts on the transit an astronomy I agree with alot of what everyone has said.
ReplyDelete-the transit is useful because it gives a much more relative way to measure distances
-also because of the fact that it was recorded, many who miss this once in a life time experience will be able to view it which I think is neat.
-I learned that the transit took over 6hours to complete, by that time the sun was set and gone from our views, which is unfortunate
HALIE FOULKS
yes i agree it was very unfortunate. but on the bright side during the transit, astronomers will may have been able to measure Venus' thick atmosphere and use the data to develop techniques for measuring atmospheres around other planets.
DeleteThe Transit of Venus will give us a either a much more accurate measurement to the sun or confirm what we already know. An intresting fact that i found is that a transit is the rarest event that can be predicted in the solar system, that is pretty cool
ReplyDeleteI also found online that similar transit events are used to detect planets beyond our solar system. If a transit is detected across a star outside of our solar system they can recored the approximate size, distance from the star and from the solar system, and the orbit. I also found that the comparison of the transit was a gnat crawling across a car's headlight viewed from several miles away.According to one website, venus is 95% the size of earth, and i thought that was an eye opener to how large the sun really is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments! I'm shutting this thread down in preparation for our exams. Good luck everyone.
ReplyDelete