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Credit & Copyright: SebastiÀn D' Alessandro
Explanation:
What are those streaks of light in the sky?
First and foremost, the arching structure is the central band of our
Milky Way galaxy.
Visible in
this galactic band
are millions of distant stars mixed with numerous lanes of dark dust.
Harder to discern is a nearly vertical beam of light rising from the horizon, just
to the right of the image center.
This beam is zodiacal light,
sunlight scattered by dust in our Solar System that may be
surprisingly prominent just after sunset or just before sunrise.
In the foreground are several telescopes of the
Bosque Alegre Astrophysical Station
of the National University of Cordoba in
Argentina.
The station schedules
weekend tours and conducts research into the nature of
many astronomical objects including
comets,
active galaxies, and
clusters of galaxies.
The featured image was taken early this month.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Milky Way - zodiacal light
Publications with words: Milky Way - zodiacal light
See also:
- APOD: 2023 May 29 Á Milky Way over a Turquoise Wonderland
- APOD: 2023 May 10 Á Milky Way over Egyptian Desert
- APOD: 2023 February 27 Á Zodiacal Ray with Venus and Jupiter
- Milky Way and Zodiacal Light over Australian Pinnacles
- Galaxy by the Lake
- Sea and Sky Glows over the Oregon Coast
- Stargate Milky Way