Κυριακή 3 Ιουνίου 2012

The Earth is aligned with the Sun and Venus after 105 years! (VIDEO)

This rare phenomenon takes place on 5 and 6 June, and astronomers will have the opportunity to observe.The rare alignment between Earth, Venus and the Sun allowed astronomers of the 17th and 18th century to calculate for the first time the precise distance from our Sun. Now, astronomers around theworld are preparing for the next transit of Venus, the weekend of 5 and 6 June, a phenomenon that will not be repeated for the next 105 years.
The afternoon of June 5, Venus will begin to pass between Earth and the Sun, so it will become visible as a dark spot moving in a 6.5 hours journey on the fiery solar disk."For centuries, the Venus is considered one of the highlights for astronomers," said AFP Claude Catalan, head of the Paris Observatory.The afternoon of June 5, the first phase of the crossing will be visible in North America, Central America and the northern part of South America.Europe, Middle East and South Asia will be able to see only the final phase of the phenomenon just before the sunset of June 6.The only areas from which the cross is visible throughout its duration will be the East Asia and Western Pacific.Only six crossings of Venus have been recorded since the German mathematician predicted theoretically the phenomenon of the 17th century.Scientists soon realized that they could theoretically calculate the trigonometric Earth-Sun distance, called the Astronomical Unit (AU), although the same chronometrousan Venus from different regions of the world.For this reason, Britain and France, the then superpowers of the world, sent missions to distant places to record the passages of the 1761 and 1769.The British mission in 1761 departed from Plymouth, but admitted assault by French ships and members expressed their desire to go back. Results, however, the warning of the British Royal Society that the early return would be "a scandal" that will lead to the vilification.Equally dramatic, but more positive development was the British mission in 1769, when the great explorer Captain James Cook was sent to Tahiti to record the rare phenomenon.When completed this project, Cook opened the letter with instructions for the real-and-secret mission: to discover and map the mysterious "southern continent", which turned out to be Australia and New Zealand.Even today, however, Venus is still useful for astronomy: researchers around the world will watch carefully to refine their methods for the discovery of planets outside the Solar System.The next passage is expected in December 2117!



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