counterglow

1 9.9

A faint patch of light in the night sky opposite the Sun caused by sunlight reflecting from dust in space

noun

Specialized

: contraluz

On clear nights away from city lights, some observers can detect the counterglow near the ecliptic.

Examples

The counterglow is often too faint to see with the naked eye under most conditions.
The counterglow illuminated the night sky beautifully.
Scientists study the counterglow to learn more about interplanetary dust and micrometeoroids.
Did you see the counterglow last night?
During our night hike, we paused to admire the counterglow visible in the sky opposite the setting sun.
The astronomer explained that the counterglow is a faint light caused by sunlight reflecting off dust in space.
As dusk fell, we were fortunate to see a beautiful counterglow illuminate the night sky across from the horizon.

Synonyms

gegenschein

vscounterglow

Specialized

1 9.9

A faint glow in the night sky opposite the Sun when sunlight bounces off dust in space

means the same but is a variant name of different origin

How Bright

sky glow

Specialized

1 6.9

counterglow

Specialized

1 9.9

dim glow

2 2.6

darkness

482 1.0

Surface Forms

counterglow singular

counterglows plural

Morphology

counterglow = glow (transparent) = counter + glow

The meaning is directly derived from the productive prefix 'counter-' (opposite) plus 'glow' (light), yielding 'a glow opposite the Sun'.

Etymology

Counterglow is formed from counter- meaning 'opposite', as in counterclockwise, and glow meaning 'a soft light', so it names the faint patch of light you can see in the sky on the side opposite the Sun.