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Glow of the Zodiac

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The constellation Orion hangs above the snowy peaks of the Bighorn Mountains on a cold and windy night. The diffuse glow on the right is called the zodiacal light. This glow can only be seen where the skies are very dark, any light pollution will drown it out. The zodiacal light is caused by the sun reflecting off of grains of dust shed by comets and asteroids in the inner solar system. This dust is concentrated along the zodiac (also known as ecliptic), which is the orbital plane that the sun, moon, and planets travel in our sky. The planet Mars can be seen touching a cloud at the bottom of the glow. Because of the angle of the ecliptic, this phenomena is best seen in the west after dusk in the spring, or in the east before dawn in the fall.

Copyright
Kevin Palmer
Image Size
6016x4016 / 14.4MB
Keywords
Contained in galleries
Wyoming, Night Sky
The constellation Orion hangs above the snowy peaks of the Bighorn Mountains on a cold and windy night. The diffuse glow on the right is called the zodiacal light. This glow can only be seen where the skies are very dark, any light pollution will drown it out. The zodiacal light is caused by the sun reflecting off of grains of dust shed by comets and asteroids in the inner solar system. This dust is concentrated along the zodiac (also known as ecliptic), which is the orbital plane that the sun, moon, and planets travel in our sky. The planet Mars can be seen touching a cloud at the bottom of the glow. Because of the angle of the ecliptic, this phenomena is best seen in the west after dusk in the spring, or in the east before dawn in the fall.