During the recent Venus transit (June 2012), the planet appeared as a tiny black circle moving on the Sun. The black colour on the Sun is because the planet

examrobotsa's picture

Submitted by examrobotsa on

Q: 60 (CDS-II/2012)
During the recent Venus transit (June 2012), the planet appeared as a tiny black circle moving on the Sun. The black colour on the Sun is because the planet

question_subject: 

Geography

question_exam: 

CDS-II

stats: 

0,18,14,3,18,5,6

keywords: 

{'recent venus transit': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'tiny black circle': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'black colour': [0, 0, 0, 2], 'black hole': [1, 1, 0, 0], 'planet': [4, 0, 1, 1], 'sun': [3, 0, 0, 6], 'transit': [0, 0, 1, 1], 'colour': [11, 6, 13, 28], 'bright rays': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'light': [16, 4, 34, 62]}

Option 1: The answer is not that the planet is black in color. Venus is actually covered in a thick layer of clouds which makes it appear white.

Option 2: The correct answer. When Venus transits between the Earth and the Sun, it passes in front of the Sun and obstructs some of the sunlight. This causes a small portion of the Sun to be blocked, resulting in a dark circle or black dot on the Sun`s surface.

Option 3: This option is not correct. The planet is not invisible due to bright rays from the Sun. In fact, the brightness of the Sun is what allows us to see the contrast between the planet and the Sun`s surface.

Option 4: This option is not correct. The planet does not behave like a black hole during its transit. A black hole has a completely different mechanism of blocking light.