Gegenschein
//ˈɡeɪ.ɡənˌʃaɪn// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the ecliptic directly opposite the Sun. countable, uncountable
"My object in appearing before the Association, at this time, is to present the observations of several other persons on the gegenschein or completed arch of the zodiacal light, of which I have received accounts since our meeting in Motreal."
- 2 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 wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"My object in appearing before the Association, at this time, is to present the observations of several other persons on the gegenschein or completed arch of the zodiacal light, of which I have received accounts since our meeting in Motreal."
Etymology
Borrowed from German Gegenschein (“counter-shine”), from gegen- + Schein.
Related phrases
More for "gegenschein"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.