Cosmic Dust Shines Over Tenerife

Stars of the winter sky sets in this evening view from the World Heritage Teide National Park in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The elongated glow is the Zodiacal Light, sunlight reflected and forward scattered by the dust in the plane of the Solar System. Zodiacal Light is best visible under dark skies along the ecliptic as a faint but large cone-shaped glow right after the evening twilight or just before dawn. The spectacular volcano Mount Teide (3718 m) is visible at right. It’s the highest mountain in Spain and also all in the Atlantic Ocean. In the middle is Roque Cinchado, a famous giant rock formation eroded by the strong winds that often blows in this area.