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Credit & Copyright: H. Fukushima, D. Kinoshita, &
J. Watanabe
(NAOJ)
Explanation:
If you look carefully enough, you can even see
the glow of the
Sun in the opposite direction.
At night this glow is known as
the gegenschein (German for "counter glow"),
and can be seen as a faint glow in an extremely dark sky, as
pictured above.
The gegenschein is sunlight back-scattered off small
dust particles. These
dust particles are millimeter sized splinters from
asteroids and orbit in the
ecliptic plane of the planets.
The gegenschein is distinguished from
zodiacal light by the
high angle of reflection. At day, a phenomenon similar to
the
gegenschien
called the glory can be seen in clouds opposite
the Sun from an airplane.
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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: Sun - dust - Solar System
Publications with words: Sun - dust - Solar System
See also:
- NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
- APOD: 2026 January 12 Á Meteor Dust
- A Dark Seahorse in Cepheus
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 October 29 Á Dust Shapes of the Ghost Nebula
- APOD: 2025 December 7 Á The Sun and Its Missing Colors
- APOD: 2025 September 14 Á Planets of the Solar System: Tilts and Spins