Space.comTopic:
Transit of Venus Across the Sun 2012: Latest News
Get the latest news and tips for the rare Venus transit across the sun on June 6, 2012. The next one is in 2117!
2
The orbiter Atlantis holds the spacecraft in its payload bay.
Stargazers have to rise before sunrise to see the celestial triangle by Venus, the moon and Spica.
The moon, the planet Venus and the bright star Spica will be on view.
The discovery comes from observations made by two Venus-observing probes over the course of three decades.
This month will see Saturn and Venus come very close to one another in the night sky, the mid-month peak of the Leonid meteor shower, solar eclipse in Australia and more.
Titan's glow works a little like a neon sign.
Storms can exist on any planet with an atmosphere, even the sun.
The rocky, metallic worlds of the inner solar system look quite different from those of the outer solar system, one theory supposes they formed in much the same way. However, a competing theory suggests they may have formed from different components.
Although Venus and Earth are nearly twins in size and mass, a pressure cooker atmosphere makes Venus extremely inhospitable. Sulfuric acid clouds swirl about a volcanic surface more than 900° F.
The two brightest objects in the sky may be visible as you wait for your train or bus.
False-colour image of cloud features seen on Venus by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Venus Express is seen in this cool space wallpaper.
The 15 countries that make up the ESO help the astronomical organization's mission of scientific inquiry and public outreach in different ways. For example, the VLT uses a German-crafted mirror, polished in France, and assembled in Chile by Italy.
Venus and the bright star Regulus are brilliant beacons in the pre-dawn sky.
Part of Venus' atmosphere may be cold enough to form carbon dioxide snow.
The closest spiral galaxy to our own; a brilliant 'morning star' in the eastern sky; and bits of Comet Halley's tail highlight an eventful month for star gazers.
In this superimposed view: Upper Venus = Canberra, Australia and Lower Venus = Svalbard ( Arctic) the planet appears on two different paths. June 5, 2012 was the last time Venus will cross the face of the Sun (as seen from Earth) in our lifetimes.
The Pleiades star cluster stands highest in the sky appearing as a close group of bright blue dots.
Researchers may be able to use this information to learn more about comets' paths around the sun.
2
