A comet tail composed of ionized gas molecules that always points directly away from the Sun due to solar wind pressure. Ion tails appear blue due to carbon monoxide and other ionized gases.
Combines 'ion' from Greek 'ion' meaning 'going' (referring to charged particles) with 'tail' from Old English 'tægl'. The distinction between ion and dust tails was recognized in the early 20th century through spectroscopic analysis and understanding of solar wind.
Ion tails can stretch over 100 million kilometers - that's two-thirds the distance from Earth to the Sun! They're so responsive to solar wind that they can change direction in just hours, acting like a cosmic windsock.
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