                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                              2023 February 27
     A person is seen sitting on a rock under an unusual sky. In the sky
     above is light diffuse band extending down to the horizon that goes
    through two bright dots, Jupiter and Venus. The Pleiades star cluster
     is visible above them. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                     Zodiacal Ray with Venus and Jupiter
           Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov (astrorms)

   Explanation: What's causing that unusual ray of light extending from
   the horizon? Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a
   band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears
   prominently after sunset or before sunrise and is called zodiacal
   light. The dust was emitted mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and
   slowly spirals into the Sun. The featured HDR image, acquired in
   mid-February from the Sierra Nevada National Park in Spain, captures
   the glowing band of zodiacal light going right in front of the bright
   evening planets Jupiter (upper) and Venus (lower). Emitted from well
   behind the zodiacal light is a dark night sky that prominently includes
   the Pleiades star cluster. Jupiter and Venus are slowly switching
   places in the evening sky, and just in the next few days nearing their
   closest angular approach.

                       Tomorrow's picture: temple moon
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