Sunday, March 23, 2014

PHOTO : Happy Equinox! – A Perfect Time See the Zodiacal Light

Happy Equinox! – A Perfect Time See the Zodiacal Light:



Zodiacal light tilts upward from the western horizon and points at the Pleiades star cluster in this photo taken March 19, 2009. Clouds at bottom reflect light pollution from nearby Duluth, Minn. U.S. Credit: Bob King
PHOTO : Happy Equinox! – A Perfect Time See the Zodiacal Light


The zodiacal light tilts upward from the western horizon and to the left, pointing at the Pleiades star cluster in this photo taken March 19, 2009. Clouds at bottom reflect light pollution from nearby Duluth, Minn. U.S. Credit: Bob King
Welcome to the first day of spring! If you have a clear night between now and April 1, celebrate the new season with a pilgrimage to the countryside to ponder the eerie glow of the zodiacal light. Look for a large, diffuse, tapering cone of light poking up from the western horizon between 90 minutes and two hours after sunset. While the zodiacal light appears only as bright as the Milky Way,  you’re actually looking at the second brightest object in the night sky. No kidding.  If you could crunch it all into a little ball, it would shine at magnitude -8.5, far brighter than Venus and bested only by the full moon.  (...)

Read the rest of Happy Equinox! – A Perfect Time See the Zodiacal Light (966 words)


© Bob King for Universe Today, 2014. |
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