Look to the western sky around sunset on the nights surrounding the spring equinox this month and you may notice a strange column of light stretching up from the horizon. Read on to discover how and when to see zodiacal light and what causes this "false dawn" display.
Zodiacal light becomes visible in Earth's sky when sunlight reflects off dust particles concentrated on the ecliptic — the plane surrounding the sun that hosts the planets of our solar system, according to EarthSky.
The tiny pieces of debris are thought to have been shed by wandering comets or created en masse following asteroid collisions, though a 2021 study based on data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft suggests that Mars may be the actual source of the dusty particles.
Source: www.space.com
No comments:
Post a Comment