View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | That lighted cone in the west after sunset, visible in dark skies after all traces of twilight have disappeared, is the zodiacal light. Mike Lewinski in Tres Piedras, New Mexico, caught it on January 27, 2019, while creating this timelapse video. The video is great, because it shows you how the zodiacal light will appear, after twilight disappears. Mike wrote: “As we near the cross-quarter day, the zodiacal light has returned to the western sky at sunset (in the fall it is in the eastern sky before sunrise) … Last night, I noticed it with the unaided eye.” Thank you, Mike!
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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