See the night sky shine with ghostly zodiacal light this month

[Judi Lynn]

By Robert Lea published about 13 hours ago

Skywatchers will need to plan carefully and find dark skies to catch this almost ethereal pyramid of light after twilight.



a pyramid of light in the night sky
This image beautifully captures the zodiacal light, a triangular glow seen best in night skies free of overpowering moonlight and light pollution. (Image credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky)
For a few weeks starting on Thursday (March 9), skywatchers have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a ghostly celestial glowing pyramid of light illuminating the night sky over Earth.

This phenomenon, known as zodiacal light, is the result of sunlight being reflected by dust particles between the sun and Earth. Catching the zodiacal light will require a bit of planning. It is so faint that it can only be seen in a dark sky that is clear from light pollution both man-made and natural. If you want to find a dark sky site near you, there are plenty of dark sky maps available online. Furthermore, it is only visible for around 90 minutes beginning around 90 minutes after sunset, just after the evening twilight has disappeared in the west.

Under these circumstances, skywatchers should be able to spot a wedge of light extending from the horizon to the west and following an imaginary eastward line in the sky called the "elliptic" —  the apparent path that the sun traces across Earth's sky.

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Fortunately, the zodiacal light is visible from Thursday (March 9) until March 21, so there is plenty of time to plan to catch it. Also during this time, two of the brightest planets over Earth, Venus, and Jupiter are in the west after sunset, This means that there is a chance to catch these two worlds framed in this celestial light.

More:
https://www.space.com/zodiacal-light-spring-2023