sodium tail دم ِ سودیومی dom-e sodiomi Fr.: queue de sodium A kind of → cometary tail appearing in some
→ comets, such as → Hale-Bopp.
Sodium tails arise from the very strong → fluorescence
of their sodium atom → D lines
in the visible. They are rapidly accelerated
to high velocities by the Sun, forming a very straight tail distinct from the
→ ion tail.
The release mechanism of sodium from comets is still a matter of debate.
Also called → neutral tail.
→ sodium tail of the Moon.
A comet-like tail of Mercury similar to that of the Moon, but much longer,
stretching up to 3.5 million km.
See also: → sodium; → tail. |
