(PLANETQUEST) - Teachers, students and the public were invited to participate in an interactive discussion with NASA scientists about a rare astronomical event.
The live webcast/broadcast took place on:
Friday, March 19
1-2 p.m. ET
(10-11 a.m. PT)
Archive of the March 19 broadcast.
On June 8, 2004, Venus will cross the Sun's disc for about seven hours, an event not seen since 1882. The transit will demonstrate a key technique being used to detect planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. Just as Venus will temporarily dim the light of our star, the Sun, when it crosses in front of it, a distant planet may crossover and block the light of its parent star. Several planned missions will hunt for such "extrasolar" planets as part of NASA's Origins program, which seeks to answer the questions: Where did we come from? Are we alone?
"Venus Transit and the Search for New Worlds" brought together a panel of top NASA scientists and engineers to discuss the future of extrasolar planet research, the science behind this rare astronomical event, and how to observe the transit when it occurs on June 8, 2004.
See Venus Transit activities.
Find out More:
Venus Transit 2004 - Sun-Earth Day site
