Zodiacal light, Zodiacal Band and Gegenschein imaged
by Doug Zubenel
The dust disk extending out to Jupiter's orbit produces a faint glow
all along the ecliptic, the path of the sun in the heavens. The glow,
the zodiacal band, is so faint that it is very difficult indeed to see
visually. This all-sky image captures the band extending from the zodiacal
light cone across the sky to the gegenschein. The Milky Way galaxy blazes
compared to the dimmer light of our solar system dust cloud. Even closer
to home, red airglow lights the sky around the horizon.
"The all-sky shot is a 20 minute exposure centered on 10:05 UT Oct.
10, 2007. It is with my homemade camera (a Mamiya 120 film back
with an interface for carrying a Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye and
other lenses). The 16mm lens was stopped down to f/4. Kodak E200
120 film was pushed to ISO 800. It, was taken at the 24th annual
Okie-Tex Star Party located in Cimarron County, Oklahoma (in the extreme
NW tip of the panhandle in western Oklahoma)."
Image ©Doug Zubenel, shown with permission. |