Very cool photo of Venus' transit in front of the Sun (new screen saver?)

[progressoid]

Featured as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day a week and a half ago, it’s a composite put together from photos taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly camera...this is actually a combination of three different photos put together by photographer Peter L. Dove. Dove combined photos taken by the SDO at three different wavelengths of ultraviolet light (171Å, 193Å and 211Å) and then assigned each of the wavelengths either red, green or blue.

“Since the Sun’s coronal gases are hotter than the 5800K (5500ºC) surface, they glow at ultraviolet ‘colors’ instead of the surface’s familiar white light,” explains Dove. “Coloring three different B&W images red, green and blue as if they represented visible light makes a sensible color image out of normally invisible light.”




Explanation:
An unusual type of solar eclipse occurred last year. Usually it is the Earth's Moon that eclipses the Sun. Last June, most unusually, the planet Venus took a turn. Like a solar eclipse by the Moon, the phase of Venus became a continually thinner crescent as Venus became increasingly better aligned with the Sun. Eventually the alignment became perfect and the phase of Venus dropped to zero. The dark spot of Venus crossed our parent star. The situation could technically be labeled a Venusian annular eclipse with an extraordinarily large ring of fire. Pictured above during the occultation, the Sun was imaged in three colors of ultraviolet light by the Earth-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory, with the dark region toward the right corresponding to a coronal hole. Hours later, as Venus continued in its orbit, a slight crescent phase appeared again. The next Venusian solar eclipse will occur in 2117. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130820.html


Larger version available here: http://petapixel.com/2013/08/31/breathtaking-photo-venus-crossing-sun-last-years-transit/

[arcane1]

1. That's pretty darn cool

and gorgeous!

[newfie11]

2. Beautiful!

[Paulie]

3. That's awesome!

[Auntie Bush]

4. Spectacular! That would mke a nice abstract painting.

[TheMadMonk]

12. Abstract? You can't get much realler than that. Pah! /nt

[Auntie Bush]

14. You paint an abstract picture inspired from that one...you don't paint it as is.

Anything can be used to inspire an abstract picture.

[1monster]

5. Stunning photograph.

Thank you for posting.

[greiner3]

6. DUDE!

[DallasNE]

7. When You Consider

That Venus is almost as large as Earth and that Venus is closer to Earth than it is to the Sun it gives perspective on just how huge the Sun really is.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. very pretty. thank u

[BlueJazz]

9. Double Cool !. I think I see the Devil in there....or maybe it's a toaster ?

Go get the full resolution. WOW!

[lastlib]

10. Man, I would've KILLED for that pic in the 60s....!

.

[progressoid]

11. Heh, I had the same thought!

Although not really for me, since I was just a toddler in the 60s.

[mnhtnbb]

13. You should cross post in Photography!

Amazing. Just amazing!