Sun and Venus
Image of Sun and Venus during transit of 2012 as seen by the Solar Tower atop Mount Wilson in Southern California. The angular diameter of Venus is larger than those of any of the sunspots located on the solar disk. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Mount Wilson Telescope Domes
Scenic view of the 60-inch and 100-inch Telescope Domes of the Mount Wilson Observatory and the northern range of the San Gabriel Mountains taken from the top of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Mount Wilson Data Team
From left to right, USC undergraduate researchers Matthew Orr, Eric Hotchkiss, and Travis De Ronde; USC physics graduate student Stephen Pinkerton; and USC Professor of Astronomy Edward Rhodes in the Observing Room of the Mount Wilson Observatory’s 60-Foot Solar Tower Telescope. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Venus Crossing the Sun
Image of Sun and Venus acquired just prior to sunset. The top portion of the KCBS televsion tower obscures a portion of the image. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Venus Transit Team
From left to right, USC Observing Assistant/Data Analyst Shawn Irish and USC undergraduate researchers Matthew Orr, Eric Hotchkiss, and Travis De Ronde with the mirrors at the top of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. All three of the student researchers have been trained to operate the Tower by Mr. Irish. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Los Angeles from Solar Tower
View of Los Angeles basin taken from the top of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
USC Students in the Observation Room
USC undergraduate student researchers Matthew Orr (left) and Travis De Ronde (right) with the Ellerman Camera in the Observing Room of the Mount Wilson Observatory’s 60-Foot Solar Tower Telescope. This historical camera was used to take a sequence of white-light images of the solar disk during the portion of the transit of Venus that was observable prior to local sunset. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Mount Wilson Data Team
From left to right: USC undergraduate student researchers Matthew Orr, Eric Hotchkiss, and Travis De Ronde; USC staff Observing Assistant/Data Analyst Shawn Irish; and USC physics graduate student Stephen Pinkerton in Observing Room of the Mount Wilson Observatory’s 60-Foot Solar Tower Telescope. The historical Ellerman Camera is the long horizontal white box. The other equipment in the foreground is part of USC’s Helioseismology Data Acquistion System. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Mirrors at the Solar Tower
The mirrors at the top of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Bottom of Solar Tower
View from the bottom of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
Stairs at Solar Tower
Stairs viewing from top of the 60-Foot Solar Tower. The Venus transit of 2012 occurred on June 5.
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