Starwatch: zodiacal light glows faintly in the dark sky

Dust from comets, asteroids and even from the creation of the solar system can be seen on dark moonless nights in late March

Our solar system is littered with dust and late March is a good time to see it; but it's only visible from a truly dark, rural sky. It's called the zodiacal light and the dust that creates it comes primarily from the tails of comets, and colliding asteroids. Some may even be left over from the formation of the planets 4.6bn years ago. On dark, moonless nights, it can be seen as a faint triangular-shaped glow reaching up into the sky.