SDO: The 2012 Venus Transit
For those of us that missed yesterdays solar transit of Venus due to the weather, the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory provides a better view than could ever have been seen from Earth in this composite video.
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It’s an incredible video, but I have to ask (because maybe you know the answer here). It shows Venus travelling across the sun from the top at an angle, but I naturally assume that I’m viewing the sun from Earth or at least close to earth – this is a solar observation satellite correct? Does Venus orbit around the equatorial plane of the sun? If so, then why does the video show it at this angle? Why don’t we see it travelling across the sun’s equatorial belt? I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Maybe this satellite is orbiting the sun off the solar equatorial plane?
Thanks.
Nice of you to ask, as I learned of this the other day. It ends up that Venus is slightly tilted in relation to the Earth-Sun plane. This helps to explain why its transit is so infrequent. A rather explanation can be found here:
http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/relativity-space-astronomy-and-cosmology/transit-of-venus-and-the-distance-to-the-sun/
- Met
Reblogged this on Ahrcanum and commented:
Some incredible images produced w incredible technology by amazing people.
I guess great minds do think alike, or are at least impressed by the same things. I posted video of this today too!