Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Zodiacal Light and the False Dawn

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 15, 2002 is “Zodiacal Light and the False Dawn,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Night Sky Live Project , CONCAM , NSF. The original explanation runs about 161 words.

Zodiacal Light and the False Dawn
Credit: Night Sky Live Project , CONCAM , NSF Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“An unusual triangle of light will be particularly bright near the eastern horizon before sunrise during the next two months for observers in Earth’s northern hemisphere. Once considered a false dawn , this triangle of light is actually Zodiacal Light , light reflected from interplanetary dust particles .”

— APOD editors, September 15, 2002

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
September 15, 2002
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Night Sky Live Project , CONCAM , NSF
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 161 words

All of September 2002 → · 2002 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

On this day: September 15 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.