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Credit & Copyright: Roman Ponäa
(ht: Masaryk
U.)
Explanation:
What is the band of light connecting the ground to the Milky Way?
Zodiacal light --
a stream of dust that orbits the
Sun in the
inner
Solar System.
It is most easily seen just before sunrise, where it has been called a
false dawn, or just after sunset.
The origin of zodiacal dust remains a
topic of research, but is hypothesized to result from
asteroid collisions and
comet
tails.
The featured wide-angle image shows the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy
arching across the top, while the
Large Magellanic Cloud
(LMC), a
satellite galaxy to our Milky Way, is visible on the far left.
The image is a combination of
over 30 exposures taken last July near
La Serena
among the mountains of
Chile.
During the next two months,
zodiacal light can appear quite prominent in northern skies just after sunset.
Almost Hyperspace:
Random APOD Generator
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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: Milky Way - zodiacal light
Publications with words: Milky Way - zodiacal light
See also:
- APOD: 2025 February 9 Á Milky Way over the Australian Pinnacles
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 29 Á Milky Way over Uluru
- APOD: 2024 May 29 Á Stairway to the Milky Way
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway