What has happened to Venus?

2002/05/08 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Klima
• Astronomia

If you look to heaven and see Venus a little long, be quiet. Venus is still the same. The reason for seeing it long is optical illusion.

For Les Cowley, a specialist in atmospheric optics, in the case of the Sun and the Moon these effects are first known, but when looking at Venus it was not usual to see them.

When Venus looks very close to the horizon, both when entering and when leaving, an optical illusion can occur in the Earth's atmosphere. Indeed, when several kilometers from the Earth there are ice clouds formed by fragments of ice in the form of hexagonal prisms, and when the Sun, the Moon or, apparently, Venus are low, these ice cubes reflect the light and the aforementioned optical effect occurs.

In recent days the alignment of the planets has led to a large number of ‘observers’, so perhaps the image of this effect of Venus has been obtained.

Looking at the image, Les Cowley seeks the scientific reason for this effect and uses the HALO program to perform simulations. In this way, it has theoretically clarified the phenomenon and has affirmed that it is equivalent to the phenomena that occur in the Sun and the Moon.

In the image you see the vertical light, but as it can happen in the case of the Sun and the Moon, depending on the orientation and arrangement of the ice cubes of the circus cloud, in theory you can see another horizontal light. Therefore, we will have to be clear when we look to the sky from now on and, if possible, if we see something special… take the picture!