Animation of a Transiting Planet

In the lower panel, real data of the planet transiting the star HD209458 are shown (Observations taken in the night of 26-27 July 2000 at the 90cm telescope of the Sierra Nevada Observatory of the IAA). The upper panel shows a simulation of the transit, with a realistic size relation between the planet and the star. During the 3 hours of the transit, the star's brightness drops by about 1.8%

The animation is also available in mpeg format: