Explanation of the zodiac light phenomenon

Zodiac light is a strange type of pyramid, most visible in the horizon in spring or autumn.

Zodiac light.(Photo: ESO / Y)

Zodiac light, or fake dawn, is a strange light source like a faint pyramid, extending from the eastern horizon in the fall, before the Sun rises. Observers can also see it in the west in the spring, after the Sun sets. In this case it is called fake sunset.

Spring and autumn come in different months in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. From the end of August to the beginning of November, the zodiac light in the northern hemisphere appeared before dawn, in the southern hemisphere appeared in the evening. From the end of February to the beginning of May, the zodiac light in the northern hemisphere appeared in the evening, in the southern hemisphere appeared before dawn.

The condition to see the zodiac light is the dark sky, the city lights do not obscure the natural light in the sky. Zodiac light is even more milky white than the Milky Way in the summer.

Many people believe that the zodiac light originates from some phenomenon in the upper atmosphere of the Earth. However, it forms when sunlight reflects a multitude of dust particles flying around the Sun, belonging to the disk plane of the solar system (Earth and celestial bodies seem to be rotating around a disk-shaped plane with mind is the Sun). These dust particles remain in the process of forming Earth and other planets 4.5 billion years ago.