Astronomy Question: Pink Skies, False Dawn?

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Anjel in Georgia asks

Dear Astronomer, I am curious about a phenomena I’ve seen in early evening or very early morning eg. 5-6pm or 3am. The whole sky will seem to be emitting pink light.
It’s not like the sunset when just the area in the horizon is pink and golden,

but the entire sky, it’s not hazy like a sunset but very bright and clear.

It almost hurts your eyes it’s so bright.

Great question Anjel!

If I’m understanding your description correctly, the phenomenon you are seeing is known as “Zodiacal Light” or “false dawn”

This time of year, (late summer/early autumn) is the best time of year to see this phenomenon. Specifically, you’ll want to observe this week, with the moon out of the morning sky to see the Zodiacal light before dawn.

You mentioned that you are in Georgia; the Zodiacal Light is easy to see from latitudes like those in the southern U.S. Living in Arizona, I’ve actually fallen for the “false dawn” a few times during some marathon observing sessions. The best way I’ve heard the zodiacal light described is that it resembles the lights of a city just over the horizon.

For those who haven’t seen the Zodiacal light before, it can be seen about an hour before true dawn. At this time of year (fall), start watching the eastern horizon about 90-120 minutes before dawn. If you’d like to view the Zodiacal Light in the evening, you can do so in early spring, around the time of the spring equinox.

Of particular interest is that when you see the Zodiacal light, you are looking into our solar system. The phenomenon of zodiacal light is actually sunlight reflecting off dust particles in our solar system that are in the same orbital plane as Earth.

If you’d like to know more about Zodiacal Light, Sky & Telescope Magazine has a great write up at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/16987266.html.

Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer