Night Glows
Image Credit & Copyright: Taha Ghouchkanlu
Explanation: What glows in the night? This night, several unusual glows were evident -- some near, but some far. The foreground surf glimmers blue with the light of
bioluminescent plankton. Next out,
Earth's atmosphere dims the horizon and provides a few opaque clouds. Further out, the
planet Venus glows bright near the image center. If you slightly avert your eyes, a diagonal beam of light will stand out crossing behind Venus. This band is
zodiacal light, sunlight scattered by dust in our
Solar System. Much further away are numerous single
bright stars, most closer than 100 light years away. Furthest away, also rising diagonally and making a "V" with the
zodiacal light, is the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy. Most of the billions of Milky Way stars and dark clouds are thousands of
light years away. The featured image was taken last November on the Iranian coast of
Gulf of Oman.
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