zodiacal

Zodiacal is an adjective relating to the zodiac, the imagined band of the sky that the Sun, Moon, and planets appear to traverse over the course of the year. The term comes from Latin zodiacalis, itself from Greek zōidiakos, meaning pertaining to the circle of animals—the zodiac.

In astronomy, zodiacal refers to phenomena tied to the zodiac or to interplanetary dust distributed close to the ecliptic. The most well-known example is the zodiacal light, a faint, diffuse glow visible in the western sky after sunset or in the eastern sky before sunrise, caused by sunlight scattered by dust in the inner solar system. The same dust forms the zodiacal cloud, a disk in or near the plane of the solar system that absorbs and emits infrared radiation.

In astrology and popular culture, zodiacal describes things related to the zodiac signs or to the astrological interpretation of planetary positions, such as zodiacal influence or zodiacal energies.

Observation and research: The zodiacal light is best seen from dark, clear skies away from light pollution; infrared observations map the zodiacal cloud and distinguish it from other sources of light. The cloud is believed to originate from comets and asteroid collisions and is concentrated along the ecliptic.