When Venus passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun.  Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system. The next transit of Venus occurs June 5 or 6, 2012, depending on your location.  Observers in North America see it the evening of June 5. This will be the last transit of Venus to occur in your lifetime. A transit of Venus occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and earth.  This alignment is rare, coming in pairs that are […]

When it comes to looking at the sun, eclipsed or not, it can be dangerous to look at it directly. NEVER look at the sun directly, even with sunglasses. You can potentially damage your eyes, which could lead to temporary or permanent blindness. However there are plenty of ways to look at the sun at any given time, or during an eclipse event, such as the annular eclipse coming up on May 20, 2012. Here are a few and cost effective (and even fun) aways you can view the eclipse: SAFETY NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! Looking directly at the sun […]

  MROI project scientist, Dr. M. Creech-Eakman, is a co-author of a paper, Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers which will appear shortly in the “Astronomy and Astrophysics Review”. The paper details how current optical and infrared interferometers can contribute to theoretical issues associated with the formation and evolution of stars and planets. The data obtained from the interferometers will also help to discriminate among competing models of the processes involved in the evolutionary processes. The paper also details how this work will complement studies taking place at other facilities, such as ALMA and JWST, over the […]