Observation by Nick James: Mercury's sodium tail

Uploaded by

Nick James

Observer

Nick James

Observed

2022 May 03 - 21:11

Uploaded

2022 May 08 - 18:36

Objects

Mercury

Planetarium overlay









Constellation

Taurus

Field centre

RA: 04h01m
Dec: +22°43'
Position angle: +60°32'

Field size

4°43' × 3°13'

Equipment
  • Sony A7s, 72mm f/6 refr.
Exposure

26x30s

Location

La Palma, 2100m

Target name

Mercury

Title

Mercury's sodium tail

About this image

Here's another unfiltered image taken from La Palma which shows Mercury's Sodium tail. This one was taken near to the bizarre "visitors' centre" just off the LP-4 at around 2100m. The tail is visible in unfiltered images since the sky transparency is so good, even with Mercury only a couple of degrees above the horizon. The tail is more prominent than in my previous image here since that was taken lower down the mountain. This is what the horizon looks like from this observing site.

 

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Comments
Dr Richard John McKim
Dr Richard John McKim, 2022 Jun 04 - 11:04 UTC

Very interesting. I have not seen the tail in unfiltered images and never thought it could be imaged without a filter. You may recall a note by me when M and V Director mentioning the use of a particular narrowband filter for this work and the possible source of funding. There was a link to a photo taken with a 16 inch scope with this filter. Had you seen such images previously? Were you aiming to record the tail?

Richard

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