a second tail can form from the gases that are released by the comet. This is often called the gas tail or ion tail, which glows not due to solar illumination but ionization. Material from the ...

In this photo, it also seems that the comet's ion tail is also visible alongside its prominent dust tail. In addition to trailing long tails of dust and gases behind them, some comets develop an ...

a bright dust tail, which is created by the reflection of sunlight on the dust streaming from the comet, and a fainter ion tail, which is composed of electrically charged atoms swept from the ...

I asked Scherb about Hale-Bopp's transparent blue tail, which gave the comet the appearance of a celestial bird-of-paradise flower. "That's the ion tail," he explained. "As water sublimates off ...

In this photo, it also seems that the comet's ion tail is also visible alongside its prominent dust tail. In addition to trailing long tails of dust and gases behind them, some comets develop an ion ...