Gegenschein

Gegenschein (pronounced /ˈgeːgənʃaɪn/, very roughy like GAY-guhn-shine, German for "counter shine"), is a faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the ecliptic directly opposite the Sun. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun traces out in the sky during the year The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System.

1 Observation
2 Explanation
3 History
4 See also
5 External links

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. Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excess or obtrusive Light created mainly by Humans Among other effects The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Γαλαξίας (Galaxias sometimes referred to simply 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. The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun traces out in the sky during the year

Explanation

Like the zodiacal light the gegenschein is sunlight reflected by interplanetary dust. The zodiacal light is a faint roughly triangular whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the Sun along the Ecliptic Most of this dust is orbiting the sun in about the ecliptic plane (zodiac). Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the Ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the heavens through the Constellations that divide the ecliptic

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. Lunar phase (or Moon phase refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer usually on Earth Backscatter is the reflection of Waves particles or signals back to the direction they came from

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. (September 14 1769 &ndash May 6 1859 was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister philosopher and linguist 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. Theodor Johan Christian Ambders Brorsen ( July 29 1819 &ndash March 31 1895) was a Danish Astronomer best known for his discovery 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).

External links

Heiligenschein ( German for " Aureole " or " halo " literally "Saint's shine" is an Optical phenomenon which Sylvanshine is an Optical phenomenon in which dew-covered trees of Species whose leaves are wax-covered retroreflect beams of light as from a vehicle's

Dictionary

-proper noun

(astronomy) A faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the ecliptic directly opposite the Sun.

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