E-Paper
Rare event involving the Sun, Venus happened 10 years ago. Guess when it will happen next?
Nasa took to Instagram to share a post showcasing a rare event involving the Sun and Venus.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) manages various pages or handles across different social media platforms. They often share posts about the world that lies beyond our beautiful Blue Planet. Just like in this latest one where they posted about “one of the rarest celestial events” involving the Sun and Venus that took place about a decade ago. What is interesting is this rare event will again happen after almost 100 years.
“She was one of the rare ones, so effortlessly herself, and the world loved her for it,” the space agency wrote. “Just over a decade ago, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured one of the rarest celestial events – the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun. Solar transits are a planet's passage across the Sun's face, as seen from Earth's perspective, where the only observable transits are that of Mercury and Venus,” they added.
“Venus' solar transits happen in pairs just over 100 years apart: the last pair of transits occurred in 2004 and 2012, and the next will not happen until 2117. The solar transit in 2012 lasted nearly 7 hours and was visible worldwide, with observers on all seven continents able to view the event. Transits help astronomers study the atmospheric composition and orbit of planets,” Nasa also explained.
“NASA's SDO continuously observes our Sun, measuring its atmosphere and magnetic field as it examines the core of our closest star,” they expressed and concluded their post. The space agency also shared an image of the amazing occurrence.
Take a look at the intriguing post:
The post has been shared about six hours ago. Since being posted, it has accumulated nearly 3.1 lakh likes and the numbers are quickly increasing. The share has also prompted people to post various comments. Many showcased their reactions through fire or heart emoticons. “Wow,” wrote an Instagram user. “Awesome,” shared another. “Beautiful,” expressed a third.
