  We revisit the problem of the spontaneous magnetization of an {\em sp}
impurity atom in a simple metal host. The main features of interest are: (i)
Formation of the spherical spin density/charge density wave around the
impurity; (ii) Considerable decrease in the size of the pseudoatom in the
spin-polarized state as compared with the paramagnetic one, and (iii) Relevance
of the electron affinity of the isolated atom to this spin polarization, which
is clarified by tracing the transformation of the pseudoatom into an isolated
negative ion in the low-density limit of the enveloping electron gas.
