Start Looking Now for the False Dawn / Zodiacal Light Above Oregon, Washington

Published 09/13/2026 at 8:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Portland, Oregon) - One heckuva fun and freaky sight may be popping up in Oregon and Washington night skies right about now - something you may have seen before without ever realizing it. Even Oregon coast or Washington coast skies after dark could be lit by this odd celestial glow called the Zodiacal Light, known in fall as the False Dawn. (Photo NASA)

- In Oregon and Washington you can see Zodical Light from September through late October - at dawn

And it has one of the more bizarre astronomy explanations around.

From now through late October is prime time to catch it along the eastern horizon. You’ll need dark skies to spot it, which is easy enough in coastal towns like Westport, Long Beach, Bandon, Seaside or Lincoln City. Folks in Portland, Seattle, Salem or Eugene will have to head a little farther out into the countryside.

Coastal viewers, however, won’t have quite the advantage that eastern Oregon or Washington do — the Coast Range may block the view.

Near dawn, the Zodiacal Light appears as a pale, eerie cone of brightness, sometimes resembling distant city glow. For anyone in the northern hemisphere, EarthSky.org says to start watching the early morning sky just before dawn, looking east.

OMSI astronomy expert Jim Todd notes the phenomenon shows up in the western sky during spring for Oregon and Washington, and then shifts to the east in fall.

European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomer Yuri Beletsky / photo from Chile

Even so, sightings are far from guaranteed; not a lot of photographs exist.

Experts say most people have never seen it simply because it’s so faint. Even seasoned skywatchers often miss it. The conditions have to be perfect: a fully dark, clear sky, no moon, and no nearby town lights.

That last part gives the Oregon and Washington coastlines a leg up - especially in spring, when the glow appears in the west just after dusk.

So how to see the Zodiacal Light?

NASA scientists recommend watching the sky about two hours before dawn to about a half before sunrise, when the glow is most likely to emerge.

Obviously, weather is a big factor, Todd told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. And it can be like the aurora in that it's easier seen with a camera.

“Highly recommend to get away from city. Camera works well.”

Astronomers also say you should not bother with nights with a large moon present, which is coming near the end of this month and in October.

Just what is the False Dusk / Zodiacal Light?

(Zolt LeVay Photography - False Dawn in Arizona, bumping into the Milky Way)

It may well be from something like a comet, but scientists are not yet sure. They do know it interferes with astronomical data when it shows up.

There's one prevailing theory, however.

“Zodiacal light is caused by sunlight reflecting off tiny dust particles in the inner solar system - the disintegrated remains of comets and asteroids,” says NASA. “Attempts to measure how dark space is using telescopes like Hubble have been thwarted by this ambient glow.”

Astronomers getting put upon by this have had to rely on NASA’s distant New Horizons spacecraft to observe the sky in the past.

“The faint background they measured is the equivalent of seeing a neighbor’s refrigerator light from a mile away,” NASA said.

The colors come more from Earth's atmosphere than anything out in space.

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