Origin Zodiacal light

moonlight , zodiacal light on la silla observatory.

the source of dust has been long debated. until recently, thought dust originated tails of active comets , collisions between asteroids in asteroid belt. many of our meteor showers have no known active comet parent bodies. on 85 percent of dust attributed occasional fragmentations of jupiter-family comets dormant. jupiter-family comets have orbital periods of less 20 years , considered dormant when not actively outgassing, may in future. first dynamical model of zodiacal cloud demonstrated if dust released in orbits approach jupiter, stirred enough explain thickness of zodiacal dust cloud. dust in meteoroid streams larger, 300 10,000 micrometres in diameter, , falls apart smaller zodiacal dust grains on time.

colorful center of milky way , zodiacal light above large telescope.

the poynting–robertson effect forces dust more circular (but still elongated) orbits, while spiralling sun. hence continuous source of new particles needed maintain zodiacal cloud. cometary dust , dust generated collisions among asteroids believed responsible maintenance of dust cloud producing zodiacal light , gegenschein.

particles can reduced in size collisions or space weathering. when ground down sizes less 10 micrometres, grains removed inner solar system solar radiation pressure. dust replenished infall comets. zodiacal dust around nearby stars called exozodiacal dust; potentially important source of noise directly imaging extrasolar planets. has been pointed out exozodiacal dust, or hot debris disks, can indicator of planets, planets tend scatter comets inner solar system.

in 2015, new results secondary ion dust spectrometer cosima on board esa/rosetta orbiter confirmed parent bodies of interplanetary dust jupiter-family comets such comet 67p/churyumov-gerasimenko.