by APOD Robot » Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:01 am
Zodiacal Light Over Namibia
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 horizontally-compressed image taken just after sunset from
Namibia in the southern hemisphere in 2009 June. The central
band of our
Milky Way Galaxy on the left first mirrors the zodiacal band on the right but then curves around the sky. The faint smudges inside the arch of the Milky Way are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
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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[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100913.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100913.jpg[/img] [size=150]Zodiacal Light Over Namibia[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] An unusual triangle of light is visible this time of year just before dawn, in the northern hemisphere. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light]Once considered a false dawn[/url], this triangle of light is actually [url=http://home.wanadoo.nl/marco.langbroek/zodiac.html]zodiacal light[/url], light reflected from [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010813.html]interplanetary dust particles[/url]. The [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL1OCcorbJc]bright reflecting triangle[/url] is clearly visible on the right of the above horizontally-compressed image taken just after sunset from [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia]Namibia[/url] in the southern hemisphere in 2009 June. The central [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090127.html]band[/url] of our [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070930.html]Milky Way Galaxy[/url] on the left first mirrors the zodiacal band on the right but then curves around the sky. The faint smudges inside the arch of the Milky Way are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds [url=http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/zodydust.html]Zodiacal dust[/url] orbits the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun]Sun[/url] predominantly in the same plane as the planets: the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001014.html]ecliptic[/url]. [url=http://www.as.wvu.edu/~jel/skywatch/skw9810h.html]Zodiacal light[/url] is so bright in the north this time of year because the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000517.html]dust band[/url] is oriented nearly vertical at sunrise, so that the thick air near the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100216.html]horizon[/url] does not block out relatively bright reflecting dust. [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020915.html]Zodiacal light[/url] is also bright for [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100725.html]people[/url] in Earth's northern hemisphere in March and April just after sunset. In the southern hemisphere, [url=http://www.as.wvu.edu/~jel/skywatch/skw9810h.html]zodiacal light[/url] is most [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100320.html]notable[/url] after sunset in late summer, and brightest before sunrise in late spring.
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