Zodiacal Light over Arizona | Earth Science
Astrophotographer David Blanchard: "The zodiacal light was easy to see over northern Arizona on Thursday night. This was taken just before the end of astronomical twilight."
What's that strangely diffused white light?
Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and that it slowly spirals into the Sun.
Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and that it slowly spirals into the Sun.
Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.
Image Credit: David Blanchard
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Release Date: March 12, 2026
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Release Date: March 12, 2026
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