comet tails

Ion and dust

Comet tails are the luminous streams of gas and dust that extend from a comet's nucleus as it approaches the sun.

Solar radiation and wind push material away from the comet, creating tails that always point away from the sun regardless of the comet's direction of travel.

A comet typically has two tails: a bluish ion tail of charged gas and a broader, curved dust tail.

The comet's tail stretched across half the night sky.

physics

plasma

Electrified matter state

fluorescence · spectral lines · charged particles · emission · excitation · solar radiation · electromagnetic · heliosphere · interplanetary · corona

astronomical

coma

Unwakeable unconsciousness

  • nucleusCentral controlling part
  • dustFine settled particles
  • orbitCurved celestial path

perihelion · aphelion · Halley · Hale-Bopp · meteor shower · debris · trajectory · elliptical · retrograde · apparition

visual

streak

Unbroken series

  • luminousEmitting or reflecting light
  • glowSteady, soft light
  • trailPath through wilderness

plume · wispy · ethereal · radiant · spectacle · night sky · skywatching · astrophotography · observation · magnitude

symbolic

fleeting

Passing very quickly

harbinger · ephemeral · wonder · awe · marvel · cosmic · celestial · mythic · prophecy · ancient

Categories
Opposites
comet structure

comet tailsnuclei

Central parts of atoms

coma · dirty snowball

celestial phenomena visibility/transience

comet tailsfixed stars

Stars appearing motionless

directional relationship to stellar bodies

comet tailsleading edge

Foremost position in development

Family

tail, tails, comet, tailed, comets, tailing, tailless, comet tail

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Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G