EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -When far from the sun, a comet is like a stone rolling around the universe. But when it approaches the sun, the heat evaporates the comet’s gases, causing it to emit dust and microparticles (electrons and ions). These materials form a tail whose flow is affected by the sun’s radiation pressure.

Detailed explanation-2: -The tail consists of gas and dust that can extend hundreds of millions of kilometers away from the coma. Most comets actually have 2 tails: a plasma tail made of ionized gas, and a dust tail made of small solid particles. Comet tails point away from the Sun.

Detailed explanation-3: -Comets have two main tails, a dust tail and a plasma tail. The dust tail appears whitish-yellow because it is made up of tiny particles-about the size of particles of smoke-that reflect sunlight. Dust tails are typically between 1 and 10 million kilometers (about 600, 000 to 6 million miles) long.

Detailed explanation-4: -Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock, and ices. They range from a few miles to tens of miles wide, but as they orbit closer to the Sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet.