U-M Research Scientist Susan Lepri discusses the significance of the transit of Venus across the sun, and how a U-M group will use the event to learn about solar wind.
The transit of Venus, which will not happen again until December 2117, will allow the research group to see how the solar winds interact with Venus as it passes, thus giving them an opportunity to establish what particles come from Venus rather than being native to the Sun.
ABOUT THE SCIENTIST: Susan Lepri is an Associate Research Scientist in the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science Department at the College of Engineering. She studies solar wind composition, MHD modeling and solar and heliospheric physics in The Solar and Heliospheric Research Group.