zodiacal light

Cone-shaped light sometimes seen extending from the Sun along the ecliptic (that is, the path that the Sun appears to follow each year as it is orbited by Earth), visible after sunset or before sunrise. It is due to thinly spread dust particles in the central plane of the Solar System. It is very faint, and requires a dark, clear sky to be seen.

The dust is thought to be produced mainly by colliding asteroids and active comets, though a small amount probably originates from outside the Solar System. Astronomers estimate that some 10,000 tonnes/11,023 tons of this dust hits the Earth each year.