Promise me you’re not some astronomy student and I’m not actually doing your homework.
;^)

Nice picture, it represents a calculation based on two forms of radiation. The magnetosphere blocks a good bit of it. The model is flawed in that it doesn't show the borealis effect caused by the interaction of the radiation, also misrepresented as solar wind, with the wobbling around of the pole.

Regardless of what you believe, it is still the solar wind that blows the ion, or plasma, tail of comets back away from the bodies of comets as they travel through the solar system. The ion tail is energized and actually ignited (glows by its own light) by the charged particles of the Solar wind (another reason, other than the huge size difference, there is no shadow of the comet nucleus on the tail).

The heavier particle trail of the dust trail is formed by the comet’s outgassing -- which is caused due to the Sun’s heat breaking down the fragile crust of the comet’s ice-shell -- and it is left behind the comet due to the body’s constantly varying velocity. This trail remains in the vicinity comet’s orbital path, and when that stream intersects with a planet’s orbit, meteor showers happen.

Along with giving off light and heat, the Sun’s corona also casts off trillions of energized, charged particles, primarily electrons and protons, as plasma (heated to 1 million+ degrees C) each second it burns. These particles are electrically charged positive and negative, while the others are neutral (neutrons). Since they are charged, they are affected by the Sun's magnetic field. The stream of particles flowing out from the Sun and across the vast extent of the Solar system travel at very high speed and comprise the Solar wind.

Because the Sun itself is divided into positive (north) and negative (south) polarities, the solar wind is divided into segments as well (often during the Solar maximum of the 11 year Solar cycle, the field become increasingly twisted and the poles will transpose each other). As the Sun twists its magnetic field, the Solar wind spirals away.

Now for the devil that resides in the details. If you have a one square centimeter object as represented by the frontal area exposed by the object, and the objects' mass was equivalent to one gram, it would take something around 7 thousand years to accelerate it to the stupendous speed of one meter per year of movement. And that is if you can hold pv squared at a solid one. Which you can't. The only thing this does is re-enforce my contention that the tail on the comet is at least partially an illusion.

Where would you find an atomic particle in the comet’s ion/plasma tail that weighs in at 1 gram?

You see, if we assume that the ice crystals formed by sublimation in space are the same as the ones formed in calm conditions on a very cold northern night they will look like very flat little pancakes with six equal sides. Other types of crystals grown in micro g show great resemblance to those grown on earth, only a higher percentage of the ones grown in micro g end up perfect. For the optical effect to work a high percentage of the crystals have to align exactly the same way. Otherwise all you get is a lot of sparkly lights like you do when ice starts to freeze on pavement. Pretty but no special effects. Here in Alaska you get that because the flat little crystals, and they are little, it takes 10 of them side by side to equal the diameter of a human hair, fall out of the air at a very slow rate as the acceleration of gravity is only barely enough to offset the drag of the air. Thus as they fall through the air they act like little parachutes and are all aligned on the flat axis. This allows the effect of a beam of light to appear above the street lights in an area that is in effect in a shadow. The same may be true of the comet and the beam of light that appears in its shadow.

Agreed, but that’s not how comets work.

In Space there is no air, or very little of it and thus there has to be something to make the crystals align as they fall toward the sun along with the comet. Here is where solar wind comes in. It is strong enough to align small crystals especially at the speed they are moving. If anything should disturb the flow of radiation or solar wind, what ever you wish to call it, the crystals could start to oscillate and give the appearance of the tail curving or meandering around like a serpent.

The Solar wind would be too hot and too fast to play gently with any ice crystals, that’s why the comet is outgassing.

There are old stories of serpents that live in the sky. A long comet tail and a wavering solar wind or radiation storm could possibly be responsible.

Cool.

Norse mythology has one where the gods were angry and Thor was pounding the Midgard with his mallet. It is believed a comet broke apart and impacted Earth’s Arctic region about that time, and a comet striking the Earth could look like a mallet being swung downward.

And don’t worry about the spelling (you should see the regular moderator’s typing!). I’m dyslexic (and there are a lot of them out there who don’t seem to realize they even are dyslexic) and find I have to spellcheck what a lot of people send me anyway. Wtihotu my splelcheckre its’ mroe like tihs. I mean, all the letters are there, but...
;^)

Other places, good for kids, too:
* Energy by the Sun
* Measuring Energy from the Sun
* International Solar-Terrestrial Physics
* http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/omniweb/ow.html
* OMNIWeb - WWW-based Interface
* Real-Time Solar Wind Data
* Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center
* The Solar Wind
* MIT Space Plasma Group WIND-SWE Home Page

Dan