Something New under the Sun! (November 1, 2002)
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The SOHO project has received numerous queries asking about the very
bright object passing left to right under the Sun this week. It is
the planet Venus moving in its orbit this time behind the Sun and
reflecting sunlight. It first appeared in the LASCO (Large Angle and
Spectrometric Coronagraph) C3 instrument's field of view on October
28th and will disappear around Nov. 4th. We last saw Venus in our
field of view in February. Next, look forward to seeing Mercury on
Nov. 1-29 moving from right to left. To learn about recent transits
seen by LASCO, go to http://ares.nrl.navy.mil/sungrazer/transits.html And it's not too early to anticipate seeing the passage of Venus in front of the Sun in June 2004. This is called "the Transit of Venus". With proper solar viewing glasses, residents of Europe, Africa and the East Coast of the U.S. will be treated to a wonderful show that hasn't been seen in over a hundred years. SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display. If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov. |
