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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Mercury's Sodium Tail
APOD.NASA.gov ^
| 3 May, 2022
| Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer
Posted on 05/03/2022 4:09:47 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: That's no comet. Below the Pleiades star cluster is actually a planet: Mercury. Long exposures of our Solar System's innermost planet may reveal something unexpected: a tail. Mercury's thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun. Sunlight also liberates these atoms from Mercury's surface and pushes them away. The yellow glow from sodium, in particular, is relatively bright. Pictured, Mercury and its sodium tail are visible in a deep image taken last week from La Palma, Spain through a filter that primarily transmits yellow light emitted by sodium. First predicted in the 1980s, Mercury's tail was first discovered in 2001. Many tail details were revealed in multiple observations by NASA's robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that orbited Mercury between 2011 and 2015. Tails, of course, are usually associated with comets.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; catastrophism; mercury; nasa; pleiades; science; sodium; sodiumtail
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To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
05/03/2022 4:10:03 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; America_Right; AZ .44 MAG; ...
Pinging the APOD list.
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
3
posted on
05/03/2022 4:10:38 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
Excess salt turns planets into comets.
4
posted on
05/03/2022 4:19:33 PM PDT
by
DannyTN
To: MtnClimber
Paledies is more famous as Subaru.
5
posted on
05/03/2022 4:21:04 PM PDT
by
rellic
To: MtnClimber
We need lower sodium planets.
6
posted on
05/03/2022 4:21:58 PM PDT
by
Larry Lucido
(Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
To: MtnClimber
Your planet won't taste as good, but it will be healthier.
7
posted on
05/03/2022 4:26:58 PM PDT
by
Larry Lucido
(Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
To: MtnClimber
8
posted on
05/03/2022 4:27:11 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
((The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire. Or both.))
To: MtnClimber; 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; ...
In an, uh, ironic twist, he planet Sodium has a Mercury tail. Thanks MtnClimber.
9
posted on
05/03/2022 4:55:38 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
To: MtnClimber
10
posted on
05/03/2022 5:05:41 PM PDT
by
patriotfury
((May the fleas of a thousand camels occupy mo' ham mads tents!) )
To: MtnClimber
Now that is amazing! I didn’t know Mercury had a sodium tail.
Beautiful pic, something I’ve never seen before.
11
posted on
05/03/2022 5:37:41 PM PDT
by
telescope115
(Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
To: MtnClimber; SunkenCiv
Thanks!
The tails on my bunny slippers pale by comparison! What an amazing sight!
‘Face
;o]
12
posted on
05/04/2022 3:35:38 AM PDT
by
Monkey Face
(Just because today is a terrible day it doesn't mean tomorrow won't be the best day of your life. FB)
To: MtnClimber
Maybe Mercury is a captured comet............
13
posted on
05/04/2022 5:09:59 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
To: DannyTN
“Excess salt turns planets into comets.”
Your are thinking of NaCl — salt.
Sodium is a metal, very light and is soft Biden’s poop.
It oxides instantly when in contact with ‘air’ and is usually dipped in wax and packed in oil for safety.
A bb sized piece if sodium when placed in a beaker of water will bubble like an Alka-Seltzer then catch on fire without an external source of ignition.
Dangerous stuff!
Cool picture!
14
posted on
05/04/2022 5:23:09 AM PDT
by
BBB333
(The Power Of Trump Compels You!)
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