Why don't comets have green tails? by BrianKoberlein
Comets can appear green because of the chemistry of the gases vented by the comet. When a comet nears the Sun, ice on the comet’s surface sublimes, forming a halo of gas known as the coma. The solar wind pushes some of the gas away from the comet, causing it to stream out as a long tail. Most of the gas vented is water, but other compounds such as cyanide and diatomic carbon can also be emitted. When ionized, these gasses emit a bright green glow, which can make the coma appear green.
The longstanding idea is that over time these compounds are broken apart by ultraviolet radiation. By the time they reach the tail the molecules have been broken down to atoms, thus no green color. But proving this is extremely difficult. Diatomic carbon, which is the most common source of the green glow, is extremely reactive with oxygen and nitrogen gas, so it’s unstable in a typical lab.to a powerful laser to break it apart, then vented the chlorine gas to leave diatomic carbon.
Other astrochemistry studies show that diatomic carbon isn’t widely present on the surface of a comet. Instead, the molecule is formed through chemical reactions triggered by sunlight. So as a comet nears the Sun it gradually forms a greenish glow. The green color of a comet is short-lived, and appears only as it passes near the Sun.
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