Asteroid's Tail Composition Surprises Scientists.
Asteroid Phaethon, the source of the Geminid meteor shower, has a tail made of sodium, not dust, according to new research. This finding challenges previous understanding about the object and raises questions about the nature of some comets. The origin of the Geminid meteor shower’s material remains a mystery, with further answers expected from an upcoming JAXA mission, DESTINY+. The discovery was made using data from solar observatories, SOHO and STEREO, which were not intended to study phenomena like this.