<p>From <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast26oct_1/" rel="nofollow">http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast26oct_1/</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"When a Leonid meteoroid hits the Moon it vaporizes some dust and
  rock," explains Jody Wilson of the Boston University Imaging Science
  Team. "Some of those vapors will contain sodium (a constituent of Moon
  rocks) which does a good job scattering sunlight. If any of the impact
  vapors drift over the lunar limb, we may be able to see them by means
  of resonant scattering. They will glow like a faint low-pressure
  sodium street lamp."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Also, relative to other elements, sodium has a <a href="http://www.lenntech.com/periodic-chart-elements/ionization-energy.htm" rel="nofollow">low ionization energy</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-04T21:01:27.547Z
2014-09-04T21:01:27.547Z
Aaron
<p>Extending @Aaron: Which also does matter, that it is relatively common in the universe ( <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements</a> ). For example, rubidium has a much lower ionization energy, but it can only be found in traces, while sodium is one of the most frequent elements in the stony planets.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-05T07:28:35.583Z
2014-09-05T07:28:35.583Z
peterh
<p>I was doing research about ion tails of planetary bodies and noticed that ion tails composed of sodium were common. For example, Mercury and the Moon both have ion tails made of sodium. Why is sodium, as opposed to other ions, commonly seen in ion tails?</p>

<the-moon><planet>
Why is sodium such a common ion for in ion tails?
zergsomg
# Why is sodium such a common ion for in ion tails?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-04)

I was doing research about ion tails of planetary bodies and noticed that ion tails composed of sodium were common. For example, Mercury and the Moon both have ion tails made of sodium. Why is sodium, as opposed to other ions, commonly seen in ion tails?

**Tags:** the-moon, planet


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-09-04. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

From <http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast26oct_1/>:

> "When a Leonid meteoroid hits the Moon it vaporizes some dust and
> rock," explains Jody Wilson of the Boston University Imaging Science
> Team. "Some of those vapors will contain sodium (a constituent of Moon
> rocks) which does a good job scattering sunlight. If any of the impact
> vapors drift over the lunar limb, we may be able to see them by means
> of resonant scattering. They will glow like a faint low-pressure
> sodium street lamp."

Also, relative to other elements, sodium has a [low ionization energy](http://www.lenntech.com/periodic-chart-elements/ionization-energy.htm).


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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-09-05. Score: 2

Extending @username_1: Which also does matter, that it is relatively common in the universe ( <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_the_chemical_elements> ). For example, rubidium has a much lower ionization energy, but it can only be found in traces, while sodium is one of the most frequent elements in the stony planets.


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