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Solar transit


In astronomy, a solar transit is a movement of any object passing between the Sun and the Earth. This mainly includes the planets Mercury and Venus. A solar eclipse is also a solar transit of the Moon, but technically only if it does not cover the entire disc of the Sun (an annular eclipse), as "transit" counts only objects that are smaller than what they are passing in front of. Solar transit is only one of several types of astronomical transit.

A solar transit (also called a solar outage, sometimes solar fade, sun outage, or sun fade) also occurs to communications satellites, which pass in front of the Sun for several minutes each day for several days straight for a period in the months around the equinoxes, the exact dates depending on where the satellite is in the sky relative to its earth station. Because the Sun also produces a great deal of microwave radiation in addition to sunlight, it overwhelms the microwave radio coming from the satellite's transponders. This enormous electromagnetic interference causes interruptions in fixed satellite services that use satellite dishes, including TV networks and radio networks, as well as VSAT and DBS.


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