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edoarad
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is it also due to solar wind? if so why is it in a different direction than the gaz tail?
The dust tail is physical debris that it ablated from the comet by solar radiation, and it tends to trail the direction of travel of the comet. The ion (gas) tail often points in a different direction because the gases are less massive than the dust/ice, etc and are carried away from the direction of the Sun by the solar wind. There are times when the dust and gas tails coincide, and there are times when they can appear to point in opposite directions from our vantage point. We seen the comets' tails as if they were projected on a 2-D sky, but keep in mind that apart from that X-Y alignment, there are also Z-components (toward or away from us) that we cannot observe.edoarad said:is it also due to solar wind? if so why is it in a different direction than the gaz tail?
DaveC426913 said:Some people don't realize that the tail always points away from the Sun, regardelss of which way the comet is moving. Which means that, when the comet has rounded the sun and is on its way out of the system again, its tail is not a tail at all, it's a ... nose?
Comets are made up of rock, dust, and frozen gases. When a comet travels close to the sun, the heat causes the frozen gases to vaporize, releasing dust particles into space. These particles are then pushed away from the sun by solar wind, creating the comet's dust tail.
The length of a comet's dust tail depends on the size and composition of the comet, as well as its proximity to the sun. Some comet tails can stretch for millions of kilometers, while others may only be a few hundred kilometers long.
The dust tail appears to trail behind the comet because of the force of solar wind. As the comet moves away from the sun, the dust particles continue to be pushed away by solar wind, creating a tail that follows behind the comet's orbit.
Yes, the dust tail of a comet can change direction due to the constantly changing direction of solar wind. This can result in a curved or even twisted tail, depending on the comet's trajectory and the strength of solar wind.
As a comet moves farther away from the sun, the frozen gases that produce the dust tail will eventually run out. Without the vaporization of these gases, there are no dust particles to be pushed away by solar wind, causing the tail to disappear. Additionally, as the comet moves away from the sun, the solar wind becomes weaker, which also contributes to the disappearance of the dust tail.