14 June 2012
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Fig. 1
This is a SOHO spacecraft image showing the Sun, Venus and Mercury. The Sun was blocked, through special techniques, to remove its intense glare, and reveal the space environment around it. Its location is highlighted in image’s center with a white circle.
Credit: SOHO(NASA&ESA)
On 1 June 2012, the Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft obtained an interesting image (Fig. 1), showing Venus and Mercury, the two innermost planets, shining very close to the Sun in the field of view. SOHO, a sophisticated solar observatory, is a joint project of the US space agency, NASA, and the European Space Agency, ESA.
Fig. 1 was acquired through a special innovative instrument, the coronagraph, which makes an artificial eclipse of the Sun, by a blocking disk (shown in blue in image center). The Sun’s location is highlighted with a white circle, within the disk. The coronagraph allows observing the Sun’s tenuous hot outer atmosphere, the corona, and the space environment around the home star.
Intriguingly, on 6 June, Venus crossed in front of the Sun, a very rare astronomical phenomenon, known as the Venus transit. The spectacular event was observed and photographed worldwide.
References:
SOHO Website
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/
Further Reading:
Earth’s Twin Planet Amazes Skywatchers
http://www.bibalex.org/en/PSC/Home/NewsDetail.aspx?lang=en&Find=642
Rare Celestial Wonder: Venus Passes in front of the Sun!
http://www.bibalex.org/en/PSC/Home/NewsDetail.aspx?lang=en&Find=633
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist