Comet F3 Neowise "Sodium Tail"
Taken by Dr Paolo Candy on July 23, 2020 @
Ci.A.O. Cimini Astronomical Observatory - Italy
Click photo for larger image
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Camera Used: Canon Eos II Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: 2020:07:24 12:52:24
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Details:
Comet Neowise: has a sodium tail!
Color image taken on 23 July 2020 at the maximum possible magnification (2200mm focal length at F / 4.5), precisely in conjunction with the close-up passage.
It is difficult to catch the sodium tails, due to the sun's emissions. Notable examples of sodium-tailed comets include Hale-Bopp (the famous 1997 naked eye comet) and the infamous comet ISON,
which dissolved shortly after rounding the sun in 2013.
A truly rare feat, accomplished thanks to the application of a narrow band filter (1.9 nm) of which I am a client and (happy) owner.
Dr Paolo Candy - www.hesnet.net/candy
Ci.A.O. - Italy
Image shows sodium comet emission,
with a professional filter by Andover Corp. 589.3nm 67% transmission Bandwith 50% 1.94nm.
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"Its [atomic sodium's] momentum kick comes from a very particular wavelength of yellow light — the same color seen in sodium vapor street lamps," research team member Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a PSI senior scientist, said in a statement.
"Thanks to acceleration by intense sunlight," co-author and Boston University research scientist Carl Schmidt added in the same statement, "the sodium tail takes on a different shape than the tail seen in off-band filtered images, which are dominated by reflected light from dust. In comparison, the sodium tail is narrower, longer and points directly away from the sun."
Sunlight's push on sodium atoms tends to be stronger than its effect on dust and other gases that come off comets. It is difficult to see sodium tails, however, due to the sun's emissions. Notable examples of comets with sodium tails include Hale-Bopp (the famed 1997 naked eye-comet) and the notorious Comet ISON, which fell apart shortly after rounding the sun in 2013.
Morgenthaler and Schmidt will continue to observe NEOWISE as it rounds the sun. They are also using Monte Carlo computer models to simulate the sodium tail and estimate outgassing rates and speeds.
It was not revealed in the statement exactly when the team plans to submit their results to a journal for peer review, but it is common when observing quickly changing astronomical phenomena like NEOWISE to release interim information to keep the community informed.
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https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/candy22.html (picture on Hale-Bopp in sodium filter)
Photographer's website:
https://hesnet.net/candy
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