How It Works - UK (2020-05)

070 How It Works http://www.howitworksdaily.com

SPACE

O

therthanproducing

stunningotherworldly

displaysofintricate

shapesandfierycolours,space

photographyhasbecomeessential

inourattemptsatunderstanding

theuniverse.Sincethefirst

astronomicalphotowastakenof

theMoonin1840,technologyhas

advancedtogiveustheclearestand

mostaccuraterepresentationsofthe

universeanditscontents.Wide-field

camerasenableustoshootan

extendedarea,whilecapturing

obejctsininfrared,X-rayandother

wavelenghtsletsoureyesabsorbthe

finedetailsofexplosions,collisions

andothercosmicevents.HowIt

Worksexplainshowsomeofour

favouritespaceimagesweretaken,

allowingustotakeinscenesfrom

millionsoflightyearsaway.

How

these

incredible

space

photos

were

taken

andwhat

these

wonders

are

WordsbyAilsa

Harvey

VENUS TRANSIT

Inthispicture,a time-lapsecompositeofmultipleimages,Venuscanbeseenmovingacross

theSun.Notonlyis theimageanimpressivespectacle,buttheoccasionitselfis a rarity.It

repeatsina patternevery 243 yearsandthenexttimethiscanbeseenwillbein2117.

Meanwhiletheclose-upphotograph,takenbytheJapaneseHinode’sSolarOpticalTelescope,

showswispydetailattheSun’ssurface.ThecontrastofthenightsideofVenusasa small,black

discacrossthemighty,brightSungivesthisimagetheultimatedramaticimpact.

Amazing

astrophotography

© NASA/Goddard/SDO and JAXA/NASA/Hinode