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Re: (meteorobs) Re: Zodiacal light
Hi Lew & all,
Wow; I've not heard of the gegenshein or zodiacal band, ever. What is the
cause of these phenomena?
Also, don't forget about the moon's libration clouds, accumulations of
particles that gather at specific points in it's orbit. I learned about the
l.c. in the book "Astrophotography for the Amateur". A concerted web-search
to learn more about them, and even view an image, turned up very little.
Anyone have any experience here? What causes them?
om,
-joshua
----------
>From: Lew Gramer <dedalus@latrade.com>
>To: Meteor Observing Mailing List <meteorobs@jovian.com>
>Cc: Patti Smith <pattis@ecom.ucadot edu>
>Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Re: Zodiacal light
>Date: Wed, Jan 26, 2000, 2:58 PM
>
>
>Mike Linnolt wrote:
>>I have an excellent view of it from here in Hawaii, and I will attempt
>>to get some good wide angle shots of it in the future, but it is
>>difficult to photograph, due to its diffuse nature.
>
>
>Mike, you must be in a prime observing spot for frequent observation of the
>Zodiacal Band and Gegenschein, too! How often and how well can you see these
>features from Haleakala? They are often visible from the few remaining dark
>places in the Florida Keys, but from this far north (Boston MA USA) I have
>rarely seen the Gegenschein, and almost never seen the Zodiacal Band...
>
>
>For folks who might wonder, the Gegenschein is a "blob" of very diffuse light
>generally seen near the point in the Ecliptic just opposite to where the Sun
>lies: thus it's usually best seen around midnight, rather than near twilight.
>It is also considerably fainter than the Zodiacal Light Mike describes.
>
>The Zodiacal Band is a faint band of light which follows the Ecliptic all the
>way across the sky, and can be seen any dark time of night. But ZB is still
>fainter than either the Gegenschein or Zodiacal Light, so you need dark, rural
>skies to see it! Both features are caused by light scattered and/or reflected
>toward Earth from the Sun by the same interplanetary dust Mike mentions.
>
>All three of these apparitions can provide a very pleasing "visual relief" to
>observers during their long meteor-observing vigils under dark skies. :)
>
>Clear skies all!
>Lew
>
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