Venus has recently been brighter, I noticed (telescope, visible, seen)

[D217]

Originally Posted by orogenicman

The planet recently reached its greatest elongation and is currently moving closer to the earth relative to the sun, so it appears larger in th sky, and so also brighter. In June it will transit the sun (pass between the earth and the sun) and will be visible across the sun's surface. This will be the last transit of Venus for the next 100 years, so get out and watch it. Be sure not to look directly at the sun with the unfiltered eye as it will permanently damage your vision.

Can we watch it at night instead, lol

[orogenicman]

Originally Posted by D217

Can we watch it at night instead, lol

If you have x-ray vision and can see through the Earth, and are on the other side of the planet when the transit occurs, yes.

[oddstray]

I should go look. But I'll probably skive off, and just enjoy all the great photos that people will be taking of it.

[D217]

Originally Posted by orogenicman

If you have x-ray vision and can see through the Earth, and are on the other side of the planet when the transit occurs, yes.

Oh cool, thanks. lol

[Asheville Native]

Originally Posted by D217

Can we watch it at night instead, lol

It will probably be streamed live on the internet, so of course.

Send me a link if ya find one

[orogenicman]

Here is where the transit will and will not be visible:

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/tran/TOV2012-Fig01.pdf

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Brian.Pearson

I guess the planet has been hit by a sun storm?

Originally Posted by Brian.Pearson

I see Venus is moving farther north, and Mars is a bit farther south? Or am I seeing things?

May starts with super bright Venus extraordinarily high in the western sky, but the planet falls out of view by month’s end, leaving us earthlings positioned for one of nature’s rarest of events: A transit of Venus across the sun on June 5th and 6th.

Originally Posted by orogenicman

Here is where the transit will and will not be visible:

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/tran/TOV2012-Fig01.pdf

Thanks. Good information.

[Brian.Pearson]

This mottled landscape showing the impact crater Tycho is among the most violent-looking places on our moon. Astronomers didn't aim NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study Tycho, however. The image was taken in preparation to observe the transit of Venus across the sun's face on June 5-6.


Hubble cannot look at the sun directly, so astronomers are planning to point the telescope at the Earth's moon, using it as a mirror to capture reflected sunlight and isolate the small fraction of the light that passes through Venus's atmosphere. Imprinted on that small amount of light are the fingerprints of the planet's atmospheric makeup.

[Roflguy2012]

Why can it not look at the sun? Is it going to melt or something?

[Asheville Native]

Originally Posted by Roflguy2012

Why can it not look at the sun? Is it going to melt or something?

The Hubble CCD is designed to detect the faintest of light, light photons that have traveled billions and billions of light years.

And the CCD chip would surely melt if all the sunlight collected by a mirror 8 feet in diameter were focused on it.