Comet PANSTARRS Crosses Paths With Zodiacal Light

With the much-anticipated PANSTARRS comet emerging into the evening sky this week, we might keep our eyes open to another sight happening at nearly the same time. If you live where the sky to the west is very dark, look for the zodiacal light, a tapering cone of softly-luminous light slanting up from the western horizon toward the bright planet Jupiter near twilight's end.It makes its first appearance about 75 minutes after sunset and lingers for an hour and a half. Sunlight reflected from countless dust particles shed by comets and to a lesser degree by colliding asteroids is responsible for this little-noticed phenomenon. Comets orbiting approximately in the plane of the solar system between Jupiter and the sun are its key contributors. Jupiter's gravity stirs the works into a pancake-like cloud that permeates the inner solar system. More of us would be more aware of the zodiacal light if we knew better when and where to look. While a dark sky is essential,Solar light you don't have to move to the Atacama Desert. I live 9 miles from a moderate-sized, light-polluted city; the western sky is terrible but the east is plenty dark and ideal for watching the morning zodiacal light in the fall months.Near its base, the cone easily matches the summer Milky Way in brightness and spans about two fists held horizontally at arm's length. At first glance you'd be tempted to think it was the lingering glow of twilight until you realize it's nearly two hours after sunset.Vibrating feeder are a British alternative rock band based in Newport, The farther you follow up the cone, the fainter and narrower it becomes. From top to bottom the light pyramid measures nearly five fists long. In other words, it's HUGE. The zodiacal light is centered on the same path the sun and planets take through the sky called the ecliptic, an imaginary circle that runs through the familiar 12 constellations of the zodiac.Quarry plant Every spring,aluminum profile that path intersects the western horizon at dusk at a steep angle,Remote control light tilting the light cone up into clear view. A similar situation happens in the eastern sky before dawn in October. Of course the light's there all year long, but we don't notice it because it's slanted at a lower angle and blends into the hazy air near the horizon.The zodiacal light we see at dusk is a portion of the larger zodiacal dust cloud that extends at least to Jupiter's distance (~500 million miles) on either side of the Sun, making it the single biggest thing in the Solar System visible with the naked eye. Under exceptional skies, like those found on distant mountaintops or far from city lights, the cone tapers into the zodiacal band that completely encircles the sky.