Thursday, April 27, 2023

The Tail on This Bizarre, Comet-Like Asteroid Isn't Quite What Anybody Expected : ScienceAlert

Every orbit, as it approaches the Sun and heats up, 3200 Phaethon grows a comet-like tail of material, which streams away in a pale fog.

Phaethon's tail was thought to consist of tiny grains of dust , but new observations reveal that's not the case. Rather, the asteroid belches out sodium gas – just like the planet Mercury , but smaller.

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Publisher: ScienceAlert
Date: 2023-04-27T07:25:48 00:00
Author: Michelle Starr
Twitter: @ScienceAlert
Reference: (Read more) Visit Source



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