July 17, 2004
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
Transit of Venus Stereogram
Birthday · July 17, 2004
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APOD published July 17, 2004. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Venus glides in front of an enormous solar disk in these two frames from the TRACE satellite imaging of the inner planet's 2004 transit. Arranged in a "right/left" stereogram, the frames are intended to be viewed at a comfortable distance from the screen with your eyes gently crossed, allowing the images to merge and produce a pleasing stereo effect. Shown during the ingress (beginning) phase of the transit, the silhouetted portion of the planet appears to float dramatically in front of the Sun's granulated surface. Of course, the dense Cytherian (Venusian) atmosphere also scatters and refracts the intense sunlight. The effect is visible across the portion of the planet still beyond the Sun's edge and viewed against the blackness of space.