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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/astro-comet-tails-away

Which direction do a comet's tails generally point?

Away from the Sun, regardless of the comet's travel direction.

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  1. Away from the Sun ✔
  2. Always behind its motion
  3. Toward the Sun

Why: Solar radiation pressure and the solar wind push dust and ionized gas away from the Sun. A departing comet can therefore travel roughly toward the direction its tails point.

Huh, didn't know that: A comet usually develops a curved dust tail and a straighter ion tail.

The dad joke
A comet's tail avoids the Sun because it cannot take the heat.
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References

Answer: Away from the Sun. Solar radiation pressure and the solar wind push dust and ionized gas away from the Sun. A departing comet can therefore travel roughly toward the direction its tails point.

  1. What's That Space Rock? science.nasa.gov/solar-system/10-things-whats-that-space-rock
    the tails point away from the Sun, sometimes stretching for millions of miles.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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