Lomonosov Effect

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When Venus moves in front of the solar disk, its atmosphere, shined with sunlight from behind, can be seen as a narrow ring outside the solar disk (top picture).

The Lomonosov effect (after the Russian polymath Michail Wassiljewitsch Lomonossow ) occurs during a Venus transit in front of the sun and shows the presence of an atmosphere on Venus .

Representation of the Lomonosov effect at the third contact between Venus and the sun.

The effect is caused by the refraction of sunlight in the upper layers of the atmosphere of Venus and is therefore comparable to earthly twilight . It is visible shortly before the so-called second and shortly after the third contact as a narrow ring around the planet, which at this point in time stands as a black disk in front of the sun.

In principle, the effect could occur because of the possible solar transit in both lower planets . However, since the effect can only be observed at Venus, it follows that Mercury does not have an atmosphere in the usual sense.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b http://www.spektrum.de/alias/wunder-des-weltalls/der-lomonossow-effekt/1153552 Reader's picture of the transit of Venus on June 6, 2012 with explanation. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ Pasachoff, Jay M .; Sheehan, William: Lomonosov, the discovery of Venus's atmosphere, and the eighteenth-century transits of Venus. In: AA (Hopkins Observatory, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. 01267, USA) (Ed.): Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (Vol. 15, No. 1). USA 2012, ISSN 1440-2807, pp. 3–14, bibcode : 2012JAHH ... 15 .... 3P .
  3. ↑ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/scientists-study-venus-atmosphere-through-transit Description of the effect. The name after Lomonossow is almost only used in the German language area. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.venusdurchgang.com/Index.html Pictures and comments on the Venus transit 2012