FSTDT Forums
Community => Science and Technology => Topic started by: Star Cluster on June 05, 2012, 09:59:14 pm
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Here are some photos I took of the Venus transit today (June 5, 2012.) It was very overcast, but I managed to get some photos taken during a few brief holes in the clouds. The first one is taken about 5 minutes after it began. The second one is after 30 minutes or so.
(http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/1095/dsc2447w.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/195/dsc2447w.jpg/)
(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/7526/dsc2453w.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/dsc2453w.jpg/)
This one was taken through the edge of the clouds. I think it is quite beautiful.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9503/dsc2454a.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/440/dsc2454a.jpg/)
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Tiny tiny tiny. We're all so bloody tiny.
Great pictures, Star. :)
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Thanks, SpaceProg. Yeah, this is a very good illustration of just how much larger the sun is than Earth since Venus is only slightly smaller than our planet. We are miniscule, indeed.
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Very cool! 8)
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The sun is so huge, yet it looks so small from where we are when we look up without a telescope. Why does the sun look so small here, when it should look huge since we're reasonably close and it's much much much larger than our moon? Is it a refractive optical illusion of some sort?
I know a bit about space and it fascinates me, but oddly enough I don't know the answer to that question.
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I didn't even get to see it due to the shit weather here in NJ. :(
The sun is so huge, yet it looks so small from where we are when we look up without a telescope.
Forgive me for being so pedantic, but the Sun is actually pretty small (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_known_stars) as far as stars go.
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I'm talking compared to Earth. :P I was aware that it's pretty small as far as stars go.
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I'm talking compared to Earth. :P I was aware that it's pretty small as far as stars go.
No, it's not an illusion. We are relatively close to it when compared to the bulk of the solar system, but it is still 93 million miles away. That is a rather huge distance. It may not sound far, but consider that at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second, it takes the light from the sun over 8 minutes to reach us.
The moon is much closer to us and averages around 275,000 miles away making the apparent size the same as the sun. That's why a total solar eclipse is so spectacular. The moon completely covers the sun and creates the "ring of fire."
The further out you go into the solar system, naturally the sun's apparent size starts getting quite small. From the orbit of Neptune, it is only a bright dot against the backdrop of other Milky Way stars.