Observing the Lunar Sodium Tail

Details Observing the Lunar Sodium Tail Observing the Lunar Sodium Tail

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.1305m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #13.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.406

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

One of the sources of Sodium gas from the lunar regolith is due to meteoroid impact. Near the time of New Moon, Sodium atoms escaping the Moon's exosphere are driven by photon pressure into the anti-sunward direction where they become gravitationally focused by the Earth forming a tail-like structure. Observations made from the El Leoncito Observatory in Argentina using a Boston University All Sky Imager show evidence of the this structure in the form of a spot. Observations were made between April 2006 and June 2008 on the nights nearest New Moon and the two nights that follow. The brightness of the spot was calibrated in Rayleighs using standard stars. A correction for geometry effects was made to account for the Sun-Earth-Moon angle. Data was analyzed for possible correlation with meteor showers.

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