Post
The reason it has a tail is because micrometeoroids bombard the planet surface and knock tiny pieces of it into space. Those pieces contain mineral-building atoms like sodium—which, when hit by sunlight, glow. So what you're seeing is a thin, glowing trail of pieces of Mercury.
29 reposts651 likes
Dr. Sebastian Voltmer takes some awesome photos! I love his HDR photo of the 2017 total eclipse, which inspired a wonderful painting by @cathrinmachin.bsky.social 🙂