Astronomy Picture of the Day · May 3, 2022

Mercury's Sodium Tail

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 3, 2022 is “Mercury's Sodium Tail,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer). The original explanation runs about 142 words.

The featured image shows the planet Mercury below the star cluster Pleiades. Mercury, oddly, looks like a comet as it is sporting a long ion tail made of sodium. The image was acquired last week. Please see the explanation for more detailed — Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“That’s no comet. Below the Pleiades star cluster is actually a planet: Mercury.”

— APOD editors, May 3, 2022

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: May 3, 2022
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 142 words