Re: To clarify what is so obviously wrong with my post . . .
<The tail will naturally appear brighter along the outer edges of the V, because this is a 3D object in 3D space, so, and as with an airborne bubble, the sides appear to be more dense. They aren’t. You can walk all the way around the bubble and see no difference.
I should say that in a 3D projection of the ion tail, the tail would be conical, but more or less hollow, like a funnel -- or more like a badminton shuttlecock -- with the bulk of the ignited ions along the outer edge of the tail.
Cheers,
Dan