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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:
- Galaxies in Space
- APOD: 2025 February 9 Á Milky Way over the Australian Pinnacles
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 5 Á Milky Way over Easter Island
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 29 Á Milky Way over Uluru
- APOD: 2024 May 29 Á Stairway to the Milky Way