Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2020 June 8

                          Atmospheric Ring of Venus
            Image Credit & Copyright: Pete Lawrence (Digital Sky)

   Explanation: Why is Venus surrounded by a bright ring? Sometimes called
   a ring of fire, this rare ring is caused by the Sun's light being
   visible all around an object. Usually seen around the Moon during an
   annular solar eclipse, the ring of fire is also visible when either
   Venus or Mercury cross the face of our Sun. In the featured pictured
   taken last week, though, Venus did not pass directly in front of the
   Sun -- the complete atmospheric ring was caused by sunlight refracting
   through Venus' thick atmosphere. Venus passed within one degree of the
   Sun during its inferior conjunction, as it moved from the evening to
   the morning sky.  The extreme brightness of the nearby Sun made
   capturing such an image very difficult -- the featured image was only
   made possible by using a temporary filter to block direct sunlight. The
   image was captured from Thorton, Leicestershire, UK. The pervasive blue
   sky glow indicates that the image was actually captured during the day.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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