APOD: 2026 September 19 – A Zodiacal Night

On September 19, 2026, the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) showcased a captivating zodiacal night photographed at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in Ladakh, India. This luminous band, also known as the false dawn, was captured just before the onset of astronomical twilight during the star party. Located at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the reserve offers ideal conditions for astrophotography enthusiasts to observe the night sky.

As meteors streaked across the dark sky, a bright Jupiter was seen immersed within the faint zodiacal glow near the eastern horizon. Continuing upward, observers could spot the open star cluster M44 and a yellowish-tinted planet Mars near the center of the frame. Intriguingly, observations from NASA's Juno spacecraft had detected interplanetary dust, suggesting that Mars might be the source of the dust particles that scatter sunlight and create the zodiacal light in Earth's night sky.