Day Dreamers
We're living in an illusion... until we wake up.
What are these two bands in the sky? The more commonly seen band is the one on the right and is the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. Our Sun orbits in the disk of this spiral galaxy, so from inside, the disk appears as a band all the way around the sky.
The less commonly seen band, on the left, is zodiacal light. This is sunlight that is reflected from dust orbiting the Sun in our Solar System. Zodiacal light is brightest near the Sun and can be seen the best just before sunrise or just after sunset. On some evenings in the north, particularly during the months of March and April, this ribbon of zodiacal light can appear quite prominent after sunset. It has recently been determined that zodiacal dust was mostly expelled by comets that have passed near Jupiter.
Only on certain times of the year will the two bands be seen side by side, in parts of the sky, like this. The featured panorama of consecutive exposures was recorded about three weeks ago in Denmark.
Image Credit & License: Ruslan Merzlyakov (RMS Photography)
(via swiftsnowmane)
False Dawns and Night Ghosts
Have you ever gone outside far into the country only to notice far off on the horizon a huge glow was rising into the sky?
It may seem like some new huge star was about to rise, a rival to the Sun - come to take our night away. It might seem like some strange celestial ghost, basking in the darkness, there for sure though you can’t quite find it’s edge.
Often mistaken for something else, this pillar of ethereal light is called zodiacal light.
There are billions of particles (such as dust) left over from the formation of the solar system. This homeless matter reflects light so that it appears as a pillar, supporting heaven itself.
(Image credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky)
(via swiftsnowmane)
