Editing Gegenschein (section)

== History ==
It is commonly stated that the gegenschein was first described by the French [[Jesuit]] astronomer and professor {{Interlanguage link multi|Esprit Pézenas|fr}} (1692&ndash;1776) in 1730. Further observations were supposedly made by the German explorer [[Alexander von Humboldt]] during his South American journey from 1799 to 1803. It was Humboldt who first used the German term ''Gegenschein''.<ref name="Sheehan">{{cite book|last=Sheehan|first=William|title=The immortal fire within: the life and work of Edward Emerson Barnard|url=https://archive.org/details/immortalfirewith0000shee|url-access=registration|date=1995|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0-521-44489-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/immortalfirewith0000shee/page/69 69–70]}}</ref> However, research conducted in 2021 by [[Texas State University]] astronomer and professor [[Donald Olson (astronomer)|Donald Olson]] discovered that the Danish astronomer [[Theodor Brorsen]] was actually the first person to observe and describe one in 1854, although Brorsen had thought that Pézenas had observed it first.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blaschke|first=Jayme|date=17 August 2021|title='Celestial Sleuth' corrects historical record on gegenschein discovery|url=https://news.txstate.edu/research-and-innovation/2021/celestial-sleuth-corrects-historical-record-on-gegenschein-discovery.html|access-date=15 September 2021|website=[[Texas State University]] Newsroom}}</ref> Olson believes what Pézenas actually observed was an auroral event, as he described the phenomenon as having a red glow; Olson found many other reports of auroral activity from around Europe and Asia on the same date Pézenas made his observation. Humboldt's report instead described glowing triangular patches on both the western and eastern horizons shortly after sunset, while true gegenschein is most visible near local midnight when it is highest in the sky.

Brorsen published the first thorough investigations of the gegenschein in 1854.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Moore
 | first = Patrick
 | title = The Data Book of Astronomy
 | publisher = [[CRC Press]]
 | date = 2000
 | page = 490
 | isbn = 1-4200-3344-1}}</ref> T. W. Backhouse discovered it independently in 1876, as did [[Edward Emerson Barnard]] in 1882.<ref name="ley196104">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Ley
 |first=Willy
 |date=April 1961
 |title=The Puzzle Called Gegenschein
 |department=For Your Information
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v19n04_1961-04#page/n37/mode/1up 
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=74–84
}}</ref> In modern times, the gegenschein is not visible in most inhabited regions of the world due to [[light pollution]].