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Credit & Copyright: Manel Soria
Explanation:
An unusual triangle of light is visible this time of year just before dawn, in the
northern hemisphere.
Once considered a false dawn, this triangle of light is actually
Zodiacal Light, light reflected from
interplanetary dust particles.
The bright reflecting triangle is clearly visible on the right of the above image
taken from Laguna Verde near
ValparaÌso,
Chile in late July.
The
band of our
Milky Way Galaxy on the left mirrors the zodiacal band.
Zodiacal dust
orbits the Sun
predominantly in the same plane as the planets: the
ecliptic.
Zodiacal light is so bright in the north this time of year because the
dust band is oriented
nearly vertical at sunrise,
so that the thick air near the horizon does not block
out relatively bright reflecting dust.
Zodiacal light is also bright for
people
in Earth's northern hemisphere in March and April just after sunset.
In the southern hemisphere,
zodiacal light is most notable after sunset in late summer, and brightest before
sunrise in late spring.
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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: zodiacal light - Milky Way
Publications with words: zodiacal light - Milky Way
See also:
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway
- Milky Way Rising
- APOD: 2023 July 18 Á Milky Way above La Palma Observatory
- APOD: 2023 July 16 Á Meteor and Milky Way over the Alps
- APOD: 2023 July 2 Á Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica
- APOD: 2023 June 20 Á The Nandu in the Milky Way
- APOD: 2023 May 29 Á Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland