Atmosphere of Venus silhouetted during solar transit

Atmosphere of Venus silhouetted during solar transit

As its June 6 2012 transit begins Earth’s sister planet crosses the edge of the Sun in this stunning view from the Hinode spacecraft. The timing of limb crossings during the rare transits was used historically to triangulate the distance to Venus and determine a value for the Earth-Sun distance called the astronomical unit. … […]

Venus rises with the sun over the Black Sea

Venus rises with the sun over the Black Sea

This dramatic telephoto view across the Black Sea on June 6 finds Venus rising with the Sun, the planet in silhouette against a ruddy and ragged solar disk. Of course, the reddened light is due to scattering in planet Earth’s atmosphere and the rare transit of Venus didn’t influence the strangely shaped and distorted Sun. […]

Transit of Venus today, June 5, is last until 2117

Transit of Venus today, June 5, is last until 2117

We’re not supposed to look directly at the sun and surprisingly, the Hubble space telescope can’t either. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland manages the telescope. An exciting event is about to occur: “the transit of Venus,” […]

Men in Black: On the big screen and in real life

Men in Black: On the big screen and in real life

When “Men in Black 3” opens everywhere over Memorial Day weekend, most moviegoers will just be hoping this sequel matches the original for popcorn-munching fun. But there are many people who say they’ve been victimized by and live in fear of real MIBs. And those stories, told for decades, are just as terrifying as they […]