Gegenschein
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Gegenschein (German pronunciation: [ˈgeːgənʃaɪn], very roughy like GAY-guhn-shine, German for "counter shine"), is a faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the antisolar point.
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[edit] Observation
The gegenschein is so faint that it cannot be seen if there is any moonlight or light pollution, or if it falls in the vicinity of the Milky Way. The gegenschein appears as a softly glowing oval region a few degrees wide and 10–15° in length, oriented along the plane of the ecliptic.
[edit] Explanation
Like the zodiacal light the gegenschein is sunlight reflected by interplanetary dust. Most of this dust is orbiting the sun in about the ecliptic plane (zodiac).
It is distinguished from zodiacal light by its high angle of reflection of the incident sunlight on the dust particles. It forms a slightly more luminous, oval glow directly opposite the Sun within the band of luminous zodiacal light. The intensity of gegenschein is (relatively) enhanced because (a) each dust particle is seen in full phase, and (b) the backscattering geometry leads to constructive interference.[1]
[edit] History
The gegenschein was first described by the French Jesuit astronomer and professor Esprit Pézenas (1692–1776) in 1730. Further observations were made by the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt during his South American journey from 1799 to 1803. It was also Humboldt who gave the phenomenon its German name Gegenschein.
The Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen published the first thorough investigations of the gegenschein in 1854. He was also the first to observe that the Zodiacal light can embrace the complete sky, because under favorable conditions, a feeble light bridge connecting the Zodiacal light and the gegenschein can be observed. Besides, Brorsen had already proposed the correct explanation for the gegenschein (interplanetary dust reflections).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal; Hiroichi Hasegawa (1991). Origin and Evolution of Interplanetary Dust. International Astronomical Union Colloquium, p. 159. ISBN 0-7923-1365-8.
