The dawn Zodiacal Light in autumn/early winter from Arizona, with a line of the Moon and planets defining the ecliptic across the eastern sky, tipped up at a high angle here, and showing how the Zodiacal Light lies along the ecliptic. The Zodiacal Light appears as the diffuse tower of light in the dawn sky and is caused by sunlight reflecting off cometary dust particles in the inner solar system. From bottom to top the worlds are: the waning crescent Moon (overexposed), Venus (bright), Mars (faint), then Jupiter (above centre). The star Regulus in Leo is at very top, and Spica in Virgo is just off the ecliptic line to the right of Mars and Venus. Bands of red airglow appear at left with some green airglow at right. This is a stack of 4 x 2.5-minute tracked exposures for the sky, and 2 x 2.5-minute exposures for the ground, but untracked to maintain sharpness. All at f/3.5 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens, and Canon 6D at ISO 1000. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. Taken from the field at Quailway Cottage near Portal, Arizona looking east to New Mexico.
The Zodiacal Light of a late autumn/early winter morning faintly visible amid the moonlight from the waning crescent Moon, at centre here as the brightest object, flaked by three planets: Venus the brightest below, Mars, just above the Moon, and Jupiter, the bright object at top. The Moon and three planets define the morning ecliptic line and the angle of the Zodiacal Light which follows the ecliptic. Taken from Quailway Cottage on Dec 6, 2015 when shooting Comet Catalina, from Arizona but here looking east to New Mexico. Airglow adds the bands of red colour. Spica lies just below and to the right of the Moon. This is a stack of 3 x 2 minute exposures, tracked, for the sky and 2 x 2 minute exposures, untracked, for the ground. All at f/4 with the 15mm lens and ISO 1250 with the Canon 6D. A short exposure was blended in for the Moon to reduce its overexposure.
The Zodiacal Light in the the late autumn evening sky from Arizona, overlooking the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, AZ. The Zodiacal Light exends up from the horizon to the angled following the ecliptic. The summer Milky Way setting into the southwest extends up from the horizon to the right, running through the middle of the Summer Triangle stars. A satellite streaks across the Zodiacal Light, in a flaring path. I shot this from the field at Quailway Cottage. This is a stack of 7 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 15mm full-frame fish-eye lens and Canon 6D at ISO 1250. All exposures were tracked on the iOptron Sky-Tracker. The ground came from one exposure to minimize blurring.
