For those of a more astronomical bent....

[dracodraconis]

... particularly for ztrooper. An excerpt from Ken Tapping's regular postings on astronomical activity (he is Canadian astronomer with the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Penticton, BC):

At this time of the year the path of the Zodiac, which we non-astrologers call the ecliptic, rises up from the western horizon at a steep angle. With some luck, together with a clear and dark evening, as soon as it is reasonably dark, look into the west where the Sun went down. You should be able to see a sort of pyramidal glow extending from the sunset point up into the sky. It looks rather like a faint and uniform piece of the Milky Way. It isn't; it is the zodiacal light – the sunlight scattered in your direction by countless dust particles spread along the ecliptic. This scattering is strongest when the light is deviated by only slightly from the original direction – forward scatter, and when it is sent back in the original direction – backscatter. The forward scatter gives us the glow in the west, close to the line of sight to the hidden Sun, and the backscatter can cause a fainter loom in the eastern sky, opposite the Sun. This is called the gegenschein (counter glow), which is harder to see. It is well worth the effort to see the zodiacal light. Its appearance is quite magical, especially when we consider what we are really looking at.

...and a bit of history for everyone else. Regarding the constellations:

...[T]he constellations of the Zodiac, ... are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. We have an aversion to thirteen, so our ancestors quietly forgot about Ophiuchus and left us with the 12 constellations of the Zodiac that we are familiar with today.

For more interesting facts, check out their public outreach site at http://www.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/public/index_e.html where they regularly post new information about what goes on beyond our thin, little atmosphere.