Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2019 July 24
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                Zodiacal Road
     Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Ruslan Merzlyakov ([4]RMS Photography)

   Explanation: What's that strange light down the road? [5]Dust orbiting
   the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust
   from the inner [6]Solar System appears prominently just after sunset --
   or just before sunrise -- and is called [7]zodiacal light. Although the
   origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis
   holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint [8]Jupiter-family
   comets and slowly spirals into the [9]Sun. Recent analysis of [10]dust
   emitted by Comet 67P, visited by ESA's robotic [11]Rosetta spacecraft,
   bolster this hypothesis. [12]Pictured when climbing a road up to
   [13]Teide National Park in the [14]Canary Islands of [15]Spain, a
   bright triangle of [16]zodiacal light appeared in the distance soon
   after sunset. Captured on June 21, the scene includes bright Regulus,
   alpha star of Leo, standing above center toward the left. The Beehive
   Star Cluster (M44) can be spotted below center, closer to the horizon
   and also immersed in the zodiacal glow.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [28]Robert Nemiroff ([29]MTU) & [30]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([31]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [32]Specific rights apply.
              [33]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC
                           & [37]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1907/ZodiacalRoad_Merzlyakov_1080.jpg
   3. https://www.facebook.com/rmerzlyakov
   4. https://www.facebook.com/rmsphotography95/
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010813.html
   6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/solarsystem/needtoknow
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light
   8. http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/J/Jupiter-family+Comets
   9. https://www.nasa.gov/sun
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151118.html
  11. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Europe_s_comet_chaser
  12. https://www.facebook.com/rmsphotography95/photos/a.386953088074201/1837984689637693/?type=3&theater
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5juqIAf0ik
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171010.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190723.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  26. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190724
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190725.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  31. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  37. http://www.mtu.edu/