Gegenschein

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  gegenschein \ge"gen*schein`\ (g[=a]"g[i^]n*sh[imac]n`) n.
     [German: counterglow.]
     A faint patch of light in the night sky that appears opposite
     the sun; a reflection of sunlight by micrometeoric material
     in space.
  


     Syn: counterglow.
          [WordNet 1.5]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Counterglow \Coun"ter*glow`\, n. (Astron.)
     An exceedingly faint roundish or somewhat oblong nebulous
     light near the ecliptic and opposite the sun, best seen
     during September and October, when in the constellations
     Sagittarius and Pisces. Its cause is not yet understood.
     Called also {Gegenschein}.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gegenschein
       n : a faint spot of light in the night sky that appears directly
           opposite the position of the sun; a reflection of
           sunlight by micrometeoric material in space [syn: {counterglow}]