mercury sodium tail
Mercury s thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun. Seems theres still a lot to do if your at the right place and time and know what to do.
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Did You Know That The Closest Planet To The Sun Mercury Has A Tail Much Like A Comet You Can See It In Photographs Ta Solar Wind Star System Mercury Surface |
But Mercurys tail is special for another reason.

. Mercurys sodium tail was predicted in the 1980s but it wasnt detected until 2001. Its secrets were revealed years later with observations by NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft which orbited the neighboring planet between 2011 and 2015. First predicted in the 1980s Mercurys tail used to be first found in 2001. However when the angle of the ecliptic is near maximum in the northern hemisphere and Mercury is near its greatest eastern elongation it can be seen against the western sky for about a half hour after sunset.
Long exposures of our Solar Systems innermost planet may reveal something unexpected. A tail of sodium atoms also constantly streams 15 million miles behind the planet Mercury. It seems you need a particular wavelength filter to capture it. The existence of the sodium tail of Mercury is strong evidence that some of the sodium atoms seen in the Mercury exosphere are produced from the surface by an energetic process one which yields atoms with energies estimated to be up to 36 eV.
The tail is therefore brightest when the radial velocity of Mercury with respect to the sun is greatest. During these times we were able to map sodium D2emission streaming from the planet forming a long comet-like tail. First predicted in the 1980s Mercurys tail was first discovered in 2001. CNers have asked about a donation box for Cloudy Nights over the years so here you go.
Mercury s thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun. Many tail details were revealed in multiple observations by NASAs. Scientists first predicted the tail in the mid-1980s theorizing that solar wind might be strong enough. Mercurys tail is about 25 million kilometers long.
Maybe a multi minute exposure but with a 66mm scope and a normal digital camera. The planet looks like a comet in sunset images from the Canary Islands. Many tail details had been published in extra than one observations by NASAs robotic. Considering the bright short wavelengths are highly scattered due to the atmospheric extinction low over the horizon the only colours to be.
Pictured Mercury and its sodium tail are viewed in a deep image taken final week from La Palma Spain through a filter that primarily transmits yellow gentle emitted by sodium. Sunlight also liberates these atoms from Mercurys surface and pushes them away. Accepting the high challenge of shooting the currently significantly well-capturable Mercurys Sodium tail I tried to make the record with no narrow-band filter but only with full spectrum Baader BCF modified camera. I had no idea that Venus or Mercury had tails.
Long exposures of our Solar Systems innermost planet may reveal something unexpected. INTRODUCTION Solar radiation acceleration on sodium atoms in the atmosphere of Mercury varies with position in the orbit depending on distance from the Sun and the radial velocity of Mercury. Pictured Mercury and its sodium tail are visible in a deep image taken in late May from Italy through a filter that primarily transmits yellow light emitted by sodium. Long exposures of our Solar Systems innermost planet may reveal something unexpected.
Sodium in the tail was 1 x 1023 atoms s-lwhich corresponds to 1 to 10 ofthe estimated total production rate ofsodium on the planet. Wonder if its worth a punt putting a filter on a larger scope and eyeballing it the eye is pretty sensitive the filter ought to blocking of the stray light to ohhh extra filtration to remove out of band might be needed. By studying it at different times during the planets orbit we can learn about the seasonal variations in Mercurys exosphere and how events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections affect. First predicted in the 1980s Mercurys tail was first discovered in 2001.
Pictured Mercury and its sodium tail are visible in a deep image taken in late May from Italy through a filter that primarily transmits yellow light emitted by sodium. The yellow glow from sodium in particular is relatively bright. The sun has a Fraunhofer absorption line at that wavelength. Mercurys thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun.
Paul Robinson used a 300mm lens. And Earths Moon bare and unprotected from solar wind also has a sodium tail although its not as large or lush as Mercurys. Astrophotographer Andrea Alessandrini captured this image of Mercurys sodium tail as its brightness was peaking on May 13 2021 through a 25-inch refractor. Sunlight also liberates these molecules from Mercurys surface and pushes them away.
What is that fuzzy streak extending from Mercury. Sunlight also liberates these molecules from Mercurys surface and pushes them away. Many tail details were revealed in multiple observations by NASAs robotic MESSENGER spacecraft. The sodium tail of Mercury.
Particle sputtering is the only reasonable choice for this process. Below the Pleiades star cluster is actually a planet. The yellow glow from sodium in particular is relatively bright. Yes its truly amazing.
The tail is producedilluminated by strong resonant scattering of sodium by solar radiation at 589nm. First predicted in the 1980s Mercurys tail was first discovered in 2001. 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. The nights ahead are a great time to observe this phenomenon as Mercury glides by the Pleiades star cluster in the western evening sky.
An astronomer has just taken arguably the best-ever picture of Mercurys gigantic sodium tail.
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