NASA SDO Presents: The Venus Transit of 2012 in Stunning Ultra-High Definition

Launched on February 11, 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) stands as a groundbreaking spacecraft meticulously crafted for unravelling the sun's secrets. Over its five-year mission, the SDO scrutinizes the sun's magnetic field, atmosphere, and its pivotal role in shaping Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate dynamics. With an image resolution surpassing high-definition television by eightfold, the SDO yields over a terabyte of data daily.

On June 5, 2012, the SDO captured a remarkable spectacle—the exceedingly rare solar phenomenon known as the Venus transit. This event occurs in pairs, spaced eight years apart, with a gap of either 105 or 121 years. The preceding transit was observed in 2004, while the subsequent occurrence is slated for 2117.

Presented here are an array of videos and images, ingeniously composed from diverse wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light and a segment of the visible spectrum. The sun takes on distinct hues: red signifies the 304 angstrom ultraviolet, gold denotes the 171 angstrom, magenta portrays the 1700 angstrom, and orange emanates from filtered visible light. The 304 and 171 wavelengths unveil the sun's atmospheric layers, hidden from the human eye within the visible spectrum.