Tails
Because of Mercury's proximity to the Sun, the pressure of Solar light is much stronger than at Earth's location. Solar radiation pushes neutral atoms away from Mercury, creating a comet-like tail behind the planet. The main component in the tail is sodium, which has been detected as far as 56,000 km (about 23 RM) from the planet. This sodium tail expands rapidly to a diameter of about 20,000 km at a distance of 17,500 km. In 2009 MESSENGER also detected calcium and magnesium in the tail, although these elements were only observed at distances less than 8 RM from the planet.
Read more about this topic: Atmosphere Of Mercury, Properties
Famous quotes containing the word tails:
“All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!”
—Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932)
“Panache upon panache, his tails deploy
Upward and outward, in green-vented forms,
His tip a drop of water full of storms.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“I think mice
Are rather nice.
Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven’t any
Chins at all.”
—Rose Fyleman (1877–1957)