Why doesn't the ion tail extend in different directions during most of the comets orbit?

Answer 1

As the comet approaches the sun, it gets heated up, and its surface begins to turn into a gas (sublimates). The gas then escapes from the comet, and with enough force to blow away some dust and small rocks from the comet. This dust and gas is what makes the tail and also why the tail always points away from the sun (even when the comet is running from the sun, so the tail is in frount of the comet).

Answer 2

They are solid bodies when touch the earth's atmosphere their high velocity create high energy on rubbing with air so their various type of components show different energy levels specially metals, the emission of light is in visible range so we observe different colours.

Answer 3

A comet's tail always points away from the sun. The tail is the result of outgasing as the comet heats up approaching the sun, and while still heated as it recedes from the sun. It's direction is the same as the solar wind, energetic particles given off by the sun. As the comet recedes back into deep space, the tail actually precedes the head of the comet.

Answer 4

The tail of a comet is formed by ice and dust that is blown off by solar winds from the nearest star. That is why the tail will always point away from the star no matter what direction the comet is traveling.

Answer 5

When the comet comes near the sun in the inner solar system it will grow a tail. This is because the sun's light and radiation is knocking off or melting off particles from its surface, which are very reflective as they trail behind the comet, allowing us to see the tail.

Answer 6

That happens because the gas matter is great than the cosmic pressure that is keeping this together witch makes one tail go off because of the heat and the other because of the cosmic pressure released in the atmosphere.

Answer 7

Yes, they can. Comets shine by the sunlight reflected from the gasses in the coma and tail of the comet, and different materials reflect different colors of light. The recent Comet Elenin had a distinctly greenish hue in its tail.

Answer 8

Comets produce gas and dust in large quantities as they approach the Sun and the inner solar system. The gas can be come 'photoionized' by the harsh ultraviolet light from the Sun, so that comet tails contain a complicated mixture of dust, ionized gas and neutral gas. The reason you get two tails is because the cometary ionized and neutral gases go one way in space because they are effected by the magnetic fields and gases in the solar wind. The dust however, is less sensitive to the solar wind and continues to go its own way. generally, the dust tails follow along the orbit of the comet, and the gas tail follows in the direction of the outgoing solar wind at that location. Sometimes the ionized gas partakes of complex rapidly changing motions as it interacts with kinks in the solar magnetic field to produce propagating cusps and kinks in the tail which propagate from the head of the comet down the gas tail in a matter of hours and days.

Answer 9

Comets are balls of ice , dust and rock which orbit the sun in elongated ellipsis. As a comet approaches the sun, its ice melts , leaving a bright tail of gas and debris which can be millions of kilometres long. This is what we see from earth.

Answer 10

As comets approach the inner solar system, the ices within them evaporate and throw off gas and particles into space. These are pushed away from the comet by the solar wind.