Tail Wags of Comet Ikeya Zhang

As Comet Ikeya-Zhang approached the Sun two months ago, it developed a complex blue ion tail . The tail was composed of ions that boiled off the nucleus and were pushed away from the Sun by the out-flowing fast-moving particles of the solar wind . Complexity in the tail is created by comet nucleus rotation , variability in the comet surface evaporation rate, and variability of the Sun's magnetic field and solar wind . The above animation documents how Comet Ikeya-Zhang's tail changed over 30 minutes in ten consecutive 3-minute exposures on March 11. Comet Ikeya Zhang is now fading as it heads back to the outer Solar System . It should remain visible through a small telescope for another month.