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apex reaching perhaps halfway up the sky. It is caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles that orbit the sun within the inner solar system. People at mid-northern latitudes can see the zodiacal light after dusk at present because the ecliptic - the plane of the solar system - hits the horizon at a particularly steep angle on late winter evenings. The farther south you live within the Northern Hemisphere's temperate zone, the more likely you are to spot the zodiacal light.
• What is the ecliptic?
• Find the moon and the planet Mercury before sunrise. You'll need an unobstructed eastern horizon, and possibly binoculars, to catch the moon and Mercury before sunrise on Sunday, March 10. At mid-northern latitudes, Mercury rises about 40 minutes before the sun, and at mid-southern latitudes, about 50 minutes before. Normally, the Southern Hemisphere would have the much bigger advantage for seeing the waning crescent moon with Mercury in the morning sky, because the ecliptic - the pathway of the sun, moon and planets - intersects the horizon at a steep angle in the Southern Hemisphere's March morning sky.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the ecliptic hits the horizon at a narrow angle in the March morning sky. At present, however, the moon and Mercury reside north of the ecliptic. That causes the moon and Mercury to rise sooner in the Northern Hemi
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