Trio of Planet Crossings
SOHO images are revealing a sight no one else gets to see: Venus, Mars and Uranus are all crowding into the same picture with the Sun. From our perspective on Earth, it is happening in the daylight sky very close to the glaring sun. Using a disk to block the glare, coronagraphs are able to track the planets. The movie shows the planets as they appear to approach the Sun (Mar. 24-27, 2103).
Venus and Uranus crossed paths within 1.5 degrees of the sun on March 27-28. Mars and Venus appear to have their own very close encounter on April 6-7. Mars will be so close to the Sun throughout the month of April that it will limit NASA's contact with the Mars rovers and orbiters due to the noise introduced into radio transmissions by the solar corona.
Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO
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SOHO: Pick of the Week (2013 Mar 29)
SOHO: Pick of the Week (2013 Mar 29)
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk. — Garrison Keillor
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk. — Garrison Keillor