This photo shows a phenomenon known as zodiacal light. At lower left, a glowing patch extends to the upper right in the direction of Jupiter, the bright object left of center. Zodiacal light is caused by sunlight reflecting off tiny dust particles in the inner solar system—the disintegrated remains of comets and asteroids. Attempts to measure how dark space is using telescopes like Hubble have been thwarted by this ambient glow.
As a result, astronomers relied on NASA’s distant New Horizons spacecraft to observe the sky free from zodiacal light. The faint background they measured is the equivalent of seeing a neighbor’s refrigerator light from a mile away.
This very wide, multi-frame panorama was taken in October 2014 at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona. The zodiacal light is at left, with the northern Milky Way to the right. The Orion constellation is at top right. Jupiter is the brighter object left of center, while a similarly bright object to the right (below Orion) is Sirius. M44 (the Praesepe Cluster) is just above Jupiter. On the horizon, a yellow glow marks the location of the nearby town of Chinle, Arizona.
Credits
Image
Zolt Levay Photography
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Zodiacal Light |
| Object Description | White glow caused by interplanetary dust |
| About The Data | |
| Exposure Dates | 03 October 2014 |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
