https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/ Updates on your cosmos and world Thu, 11 Jan 2024 17:59:30 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.3 https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-816981 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:41:00 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-816981 If the paths of the planets, and thus the ecliptic, follow a circle, then their angle with the horizon at dawn and dusk will be the same. (Any segment of a circle intersecting a line, the horizon, will have equal intersection angles, with opposite signs, at the two ends. The same is true for a circle viewed at an angle; an ellipse). If so, then why is viewing zodiacal light better in pre-dawn than after dusk in the fall? It seems to me that morning and evening should be symmetric. What am I missing?

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-816897 Tue, 22 Sep 2015 06:17:00 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-816897 We saw it here in Sweet Home, Oregon this evening at dusk (September 21st, 2015). It was gorgeous! This is the first time I have ever seen it.

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-815723 Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:10:00 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-815723 We don’t “go through” the ecliptic, it’s just the path the planets and sun appear to travel against the background of stars as we and the other planets go around the sun. The Zodiacal Light is somewhat analogous to the band of light in the sky that we refer to as the Milky Way, with the differences being that the Zodiacal Light is reflected light from dust (rather than emitted from stars) and it’s far more local than the light from the Milky Way. In both cases we’re looking edge-on into the planes of our orbits – in the case of the Milky Way it’s the orbital plane of the stars traveling around the galactic core, and in the case of the Zodiacal Light it’s the orbital plane of the planets around our sun. The fact that we see the Zodiacal Light better at certain times of year has to do with the geometry involved, not with our proximity to the source of the light.

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-762907 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:35:05 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-762907 […] The zodiacal light is an eerie light extending up from the horizon. No matter where you are on Earth, springtime or autumn is the best time to see it.  […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-754918 Thu, 31 Oct 2013 21:57:38 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-754918 […] Explanation: The bulging center of our Milky Way Galaxy rests on a pillar of light in this luminous skyscape. Recorded on September 22nd in dark South African skies, rivers of dust seem to flow downward from the galactic center towards Antares, yellowish alpha star of the constellation Scorpius, near the top of the scene. The brightest celestial beacon present is not a star at all though, but planet Venus, still dominant in the western sky after sunset. Of course, the pillar of light stretching upward from the horizon is Zodiacal light. Sunlight scattered by dust along the plane of the ecliptic creates the zodiacal glow, prominent in the evening after twilight during the southern hemisphere spring. […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-754768 Sun, 20 Oct 2013 22:23:15 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-754768 […] the ecliptic creates ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ? southern hemisphere spring ? ?? ???? ? ? ???? ???. […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-754752 Sat, 19 Oct 2013 06:19:46 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-754752 […] ??? ????????????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ????? ????? ??? ? ??? ?? ????  ?????-????? ??? ???? […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-754715 Fri, 18 Oct 2013 23:43:26 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-754715 […] O centro curvado da nossa Via Láctea repousa sobre um pilar de luz neste luminoso frame. Registrado no dia 22 de Setembro, em um céu escuro da África do Sul, rios de poeira parecem fluir para baixo a partir do centro galáctico na direção de Antares, a amarelada estrela alfa da constelação de Escorpião, perto do topo da cena. O mais brilhante farol celestial presente, certamente não é uma estrela, mas o planeta Vênus ainda dominante no céu ocidental depois do pôr do Sol. Claro que, o pilar de luz que se estica para cima a partir do horizonte é a luz celeste. A luz solar espalhada pela poeira ao longo do plano elíptico cria o brilho zodiacal, destaque da noite depois do crepúsculo durante a primavera no hemisfério sul. […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-754697 Fri, 18 Oct 2013 16:00:12 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-754697 […] Explanation: The bulging center of our Milky Way Galaxy rests on a pillar of light in this luminous skyscape. Recorded on September 22nd in dark South African skies, rivers of dust seem to flow downward from the galactic center towards Antares, yellowish alpha star of the constellation Scorpius, near the top of the scene. The brightest celestial beacon present is not a star at all though, but planet Venus, still dominant in the western sky after sunset. Of course, the pillar of light stretching upward from the horizon is Zodiacal light. Sunlight scattered by dust along the plane of the ecliptic creates the zodiacal glow, prominent in the evening after twilight during the southern hemisphere spring. […]

]]> https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/zodiacal-light-false-dusk-how-to-see-explanation/#comment-753364 Wed, 21 Aug 2013 02:26:45 +0000 https://earthsky.org/?p=108119#comment-753364 […] Great article by EarthSky: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-zodiacal-light-or-false-dusk […]

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