HST will watch Venus Transit 2012 in a different way...

From an email circular I get, the following might be of interest:

Hubble Telescope will observe the transit of Venus
The Hubble Telescope will be used to observe the transit of Venus next year. The telescope won't be pointed at the sun however, but at the moon instead. Why? When directed at the sun, the delicate instruments of the space telescope would immediately be destroyed by the intensity of the focussed sun light. Safely pointed at the moon, the telescope will measure the intensity of the reflected sun light. During the transit of Venus, part of the solar disk will be blocked, resulting in a small decrease of sun light reflected off the moon's surface. This is a very special way of observing the transit, and is somewhat reminiscent of the way exoplanets are detected by other stars hundreds of light years away. For an interview with Space Telescope Science Institute Director Matt Mountain and a link to the research proposal of Alfred Vidal-Madjar, see the post by Chuck Bueter: transitofvenus.nl/wp/2011/09/09/hubble-telescope-participates/

Interesting concept in getting Hubble involved. I hope down here we get good weather. We just about got to see it in 2004.

Seanie.