* Composition: Comets are essentially icy dirtballs, made up of frozen gases (like water, carbon dioxide, methane), dust, and rock.
* Heating: As a comet approaches the sun, its surface warms up. The frozen gases begin to vaporize, turning into gas and dust.
* Solar Wind: The sun emits a constant stream of charged particles called the solar wind. This wind pushes the gas and dust away from the comet, forming a long tail.
* Two Tails: Comets actually have two tails:
* Dust tail: This tail is made up of dust particles pushed away by the radiation pressure from the sun. It's typically curved and reflects sunlight.
* Ion tail: This tail is made up of ionized gas that is blown away by the solar wind. It's usually straight and points directly away from the sun.
The tail is a temporary phenomenon: As a comet moves further away from the sun, it cools down, the gas and dust stop vaporizing, and the tail disappears.
