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Credit & Copyright: H. Fukushima, D. Kinoshita, &
J. Watanabe
(NAOJ)
Explanation:
If you look carefully enough, you can even see
the glow of the
Sun in the opposite direction.
At night this glow is known as
the gegenschein (German for "counter glow"),
and can be seen as a faint glow in an extremely dark sky, as
pictured above.
The gegenschein is sunlight back-scattered off small
dust particles. These
dust particles are millimeter sized splinters from
asteroids and orbit in the
ecliptic plane of the planets.
The gegenschein is distinguished from
zodiacal light by the
high angle of reflection. At day, a phenomenon similar to
the
gegenschien
called the glory can be seen in clouds opposite
the Sun from an airplane.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - dust - Solar System
Publications with words: Sun - dust - Solar System
See also:
- APOD: 2026 July 22 Á The Corona Australis Cloud and the Chandelier Cluster
- APOD: 2026 July 9 Á The Red Glow of the Cosmic Bat Nebula
- APOD: 2026 February 11 Á A Year of Sunspots
- APOD: 2026 February 8 Á Active Sunspot Region 4366 Crosses the Sun
- LDN 1622: Dark Nebula in Orion
- NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
- A Dark Seahorse in Cepheus