Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                               2025 August 10
    [2]A night sky is shown above a road going off into the distance. An
     unusual area of brightened sky that does not block background stars
   appears diagonally from the lower right across the sky. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                                Zodiacal Road
        Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Ruslan Merzlyakov ([4]astrorms)

   Explanation: What's that strange light down the road? [5]Dust orbiting
   the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust
   from the inner [6]Solar System appears prominently just after sunset --
   or just before sunrise -- and is called [7]zodiacal light. Although the
   [8]origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis
   holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint [9]Jupiter-family
   comets and slowly spirals into the [10]Sun. Recent analysis of [11]dust
   emitted by Comet 67P, visited by ESA's robotic [12]Rosetta spacecraft,
   bolsters this hypothesis. [13]Pictured when climbing a road up to
   [14]Teide National Park in the [15]Canary Islands of [16]Spain, a
   bright triangle of [17]zodiacal light appeared in the distance soon
   after sunset. [18]Captured on June 21, 2019, the scene includes bright
   [19]Regulus, the [20]alpha star of the constellation Leo, standing
   above center toward the left. The [21]Beehive Star Cluster (M44) can be
   spotted below center, closer to the horizon and also [22]immersed in
   the zodiacal glow.

                     Tomorrow's picture: near to the Sun
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply.
            [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices;
                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC,
                         [45]NASA Science Activation
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2508/ZodiacalRoad_Merzlyakov_1080.jpg
   3. https://www.facebook.com/rmerzlyakov
   4. https://www.instagram.com/astrorms/
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010813.html
   6. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light#Origin
   9. http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/J/Jupiter-family+Comets
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151118.html
  12. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Europe_s_comet_chaser
  13. https://www.facebook.com/rmsphotography95/photos/a.386953088074201/1837984689637693/?type=3&theater
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5juqIAf0ik
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171010.html
  18. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://external-preview.redd.it/KdxAcvdKsUGqLUfz71K0MbwICIgOWrpF3QRILANcVn4.jpg?auto=webp&s=8d87166092d0da7b625f17ac72350c1e01a47523
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulus
  20. https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/universe/how-are-so-many-stars-named-and-identified.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220430.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230227.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250809.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250810
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250811.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/