APOD
Zodiacal Light Over New Mexico
December 14, 2008Malcolm Park
(North York Astronomical Association)
About This Image
An unusual triangle of light is visible this time of year just before dawn. Once considered a false dawn, this triangle of light is actually Zodiacal Light, light reflected from interplanetary dust particles. The triangle is clearly visible in the above image taken from New Mexico, USA, in October. A telescope truss tube assembly and observatory domes of New Mexico Skies fill the foreground of the early morning skyscape. Zodiacal dust orbits the Sun predominantly in the same plane as the planets: the ecliptic. Zodiacal light is so bright 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. Note: APOD Editor to Speak in New York on Jan. 2
On This Day in Space History
On December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by another planet (Venus).
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