Astrophysicist extraordinaire Summer Ash stopped by our office today to introduce us to the wonders of the “Transit of Venus”.
Don’t be frightened! It’s not a bad sci-fi movie, but a rare, celestial spectacle: Venus will pass across the Sun, directly in our line of sight.
And you really don't want to miss it, because it will be your last chance to catch it until ... 2117. Which means you will never get another chance.
So mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 5 at 6:30pm ET. Basically, the farther west you are, the more of the transit you'll be able to see. To figure out your visibility based on your location, here's a helpful guide. (If you're in New York, astronomers from Columbia University will be stationed at Union Square and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard at West 125th Street -- more details here and on their twitter.)
Now, this could be neat just for the geeky, planetary coolness of it all. "Honey, grab the kids and get out the telescope! A rare spectacle!"
But it's also cool because our entire understanding of the solar system relies on this very event.
We measure the size of our solar system in Astronomical Units (AUs).
1 AU = approx. 93 million miles = the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Astronomers first figured out that "93 million miles" part thanks to calculations from the transit of Venus back in 1882!
As Summer says, astronomer Edmund Halley (of "Halley's comet" fame) figured out way back in 1716 that we could calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun by timing how long it takes Venus to cross the Sun.
In 1882, astronomers were finally able to get themselves to the right place at the right time to observe the transit, and a few years later the scientific community accepted the unit of measurement of approx. 93 million miles - a value which we continue to use today (refined with modern radar measurements!)
While astronomers no longer need to observe the transit of Venus to determine the distance to the Sun, astronomers are still super excited to see how our current observations differ or improve upon those early observations from the 19th century. As Summer notes above:
"...the reason it’s so exciting right now is because we have completely different technology as astronomers. Back then, they had telescopes but they were doing a lot more hand calculations, they didn’t have cameras to capture the images. We’ve got satellites in space now, so astronomers are really “geek-ing” out about this."
Remember: safety first! Never look directly at the sun – and follow these guidelines from NASA to ensure safe viewing.
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Excited to see the Transit of Venus. Now, just need to find #14 welder's glass by June 5th. What a day that will be, the transit and California's Primary Election day. I may need more than #14 glass.
I always wondered why we didn't have Lunar eclipses more often but didn't know who to ask. Orbital Inclination Ahah!
Thanks Summer.
I really and truly miss "Week in Geek". I mean I really do. Surely Steve Benen can mange to write one post fewer each Friday.
This isn't Crooks & Liars, where they post 2 things a day on weeks old news and call it done. The Week in Geek can be filled at Lifehacker.
I hate to troll you again NextMSNBCStar, but really I am just a troll after all.
~heehee
Being a fan of the Rachel Maddow show and having a fetish for really smart women is something easily combined
This is all the Republicans fault right?
Blame it on George Bush.
I do.
I think she meant she understands and empathizes.
view the world, as told, through my black and white kaleidoscope. God, purge us from the corrupting cognisance of Venus."
One wonders how the science deniers rationalize that scientists can predict these things - transits of Venus, solar eclipses, etc. - to the day, to the second, to the exact path of transit/path of the shadow, etc. Or do the science deniers think it's just luck?
Or is science acceptable when it comes to astronomy & physics but not for biology and climate science? And if biological science is not believable/acceptable, aren't these people hypocrites for going to a modern doctor for anything? For antibiotics for an infection? Do they get flu shots every year? It really is pretty amazing... and not in a good way.
To this may I add--
Bush II after his re-election, in the spring of '05, went on a campaign to reform Soc. Sec. He based it all on a computer projection of how the current law resulted in a huge "unfunded liability" if extended out to the end of time.
This at the same time he was arguing that the climate models that scientists were using did not prove that the world would warm more, because they are just computer models. There are 2 problems here--
1st, just the fact that one computer model was accepted as proof and one rejected out of hand.
2nd, the fact that climate scientists' model used scientific formulas and laws (called "theories" by scientists) which are well verified in the labortory, compared to the Soc. Sec. model which used economic theories and assumptions which have never been verified in a lab. For example, what will the unemployment rate be in, say, 2020; let alone 2100 or 2200. The unemployment rate is important because unemployed people do not pay into Soc. Sec. and this effects the amount the Soc. Sec. Admin. takes in that year.
I would indeed wish to be able to put all idiot science deniers onto an island where they can live without the science they seem to despise when it dares tell them that their delusions are wrong. Then they be free of hypocrisy, living in mud huts and dying of completely preventable diseases.
golly, soon you'll be telling us that the earth isn't really the center of the universe and angels don't push the planets around :D
oh and for the best in idiot conservative southern states: North Carolina tries to wish away sea level rise: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/01/north-carolina-sea-level-rises?newsfeed=true
The only people in the world who must not see conservatives Americans as complete idiots have to be the Taliban and other religious radicals.
The real "deniers" are the ones that think it is man that causes global warming..
If you condense the age of the earth down to a 24 hour clock, we see that man has only been here for around 7 seconds...
please "stupid", tell me what you would think would happen if all of the carbon dioxide that has been sequestered in coal over hundreds of millions of years was released in a time frame a minute fraction of that long? We know that these gases cause the greenhouse effect. We know we have more of them in the atmosphere than at any other time than eras where there was massive volcanism. It's sad that people like you wish to ignore science if it doesn't match your delusions or desires, but accept it when it makes you comfy. You are a hypocrite. The same science that supports anthropogenic global warming is the same that provides you with modern conveniences. You can't just pick and choose what science you like.
Wake up tree hugger.
Water vapor is 65-80% the reason for heat radiation retention...
CO2 is only 20-25%....
Go to the USGS. Read about global warmming.
Sigh, what happens when people read without understanding and accept political ideology and don't think about what it is they are spouting:
When the earth heats up, more water vapor IS put into the air, and it DOES trap more heat. It is what is called an "amplifier". If the earth heats up a degree, then yes, water vapor will cause another degree of heating. HOWEVER, the earth has to heat up FIRST before more water vapor starts this effect. BUT the effect of water vapor is SHORT-LIVED and varies depending on temperature and weather conditions. There can be between 1000 and 40,000 ppm water vapor mixed into the atmosphere depending on the humidity.
CO2 is MUCH different, it gets into the atmosphere and stays there. A TINY amount of CO2 causes a larger amount of heating. This year, the observatory at Mauna Loa measured 396 ppm mixed in the atmosphere. Compare this to 320 ppm in 1960 (about the time they actually started making those measurements).
Has CO2 been much higher on this planet in the past? YES! But you forget that atmospheres then wouldn't have allowed human life!!
The argument is not what CAUSES global warming - it is what to do about it!!! Can the earth heal itself or is intervention necessary? To try and bring up nonsense about what CAUSES global warming is just to pander to the stupid!!
SOMEHOW, I'm going to bet you are against the EPA requiring companies to clean up their waste water for the exact same reasons!! (Hey if the groundwater has 40,000 ppm As (arsenic), then it must be good to drink because it hasn't hurt the ground!!).
Why don't you try reading what the USGS is ACTUALLY saying instead of what YOU THINK they are saying or WANT them to say, and try articles from NSF and NASA too!
Err... my statement:
should have been written:
"The argument is not what CAUSES global warming - it is what to do about it!! Can the earth heal itself or is intervention necessary FOR HUMANS TO SURVIVE?"
The earth would heal itself if all humans disappeared!!
I'm sure Ms. Ash will have mentioned it, but please let another Ph.D. in the subject to pile on: it's pronounced "Hal-ley", with a short "a", like Hal the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
And thanks for covering the transit of Venus, including some relevant context re parallax. I may not live until 2117 (or 2017, for that matter), but I'll content myself with pictures taken by others. Astronomy was always more mental than observational for me, anyway. Never had my own telescope; didn't even see the Milky Way until I was 16; didn't see it *really* until just before grad school, from Kitt Peak AZ. But I was present when Halley was reaquired via the MMT (AZ) in 1983 (?4?); saw its closest approach to earth naked eye while observing in Chile; still have some of the private photos of the latter.
Observation is fine except for clouds and fog, both equal participants in Murphy's Law. Astrophysics can go on despite earth's atmosphere. Whether it can survive the anti-science bent of our fellow Americans is a bigger issue.
Thanks for keeping MaddowBlog and TRMS a place where an old scientist can feel at home.
Actually, much of the world will be able to see the transit with the unaided eye—with proper eye protection such as eclipse-safe glasses, of course. Venus will look like a small dot moving across the disk of the sun. For a better view, tune in to the Exploratorium's telescope-based webcast from Hawaii: www.exploratorium.edu/venus. The program will begin at noon in Hawaii; 3:00 PDT; 22:00 UT.
Why don’t we learn about these wars? Basically, you do have a set of corrupt individuals who have no concern for the welfare of others. These people are always lurking and waiting to take advantage of the system and people for their own greedy self interests. And than you have people who say oh no we don’t want to hold these people accountable for their actions and put that attitude out on the news media leaving people defenseless to do anything about it. This is nothing but a vicious cycle of human nature and too many people being foolish by aiding these corrupt individuals to do what they want to. Where Bush, Chenney and the others should be prosecuted for their crimes they are not and just protected by this whole set up corrupt system. Until people finally start standing up to say enough is enough and actually demanding justice nothing will ever be done about it. And if you don’t believe this, look at what has happened in America and the results of all these corrupt actions now which by the way can get much worse beyond the likes you have ever seen yet.
Dear Dr. Ash,
I apologize on behalf of sane people who enjoy a little science for your lesson being hijacked momentarily by childish name callers.
From a biologist who first gained a real appreciation for science in an X-ray physics class, thank you for your efforts to bring science to the masses.
Respectfully submitted,
MG
P.S. Your Week In Geek is missed widely.