Greetings everyone! I just got back home and spent some time
outside looking at the comet. By the way, if you haven't seen it, you're
missing out! Besides, it will be a mere 2000-3000yrs before the next
opportunity. :-)
I was wondering, do comets brightness and length of their tails
vary due to whether they are approaching the sun or going away from it.
My thinking is that if the comet is approaching the sun, there are more
bombardments from the solar wind. Since there are more bombardments,
more matter is being ripped from the comet resulting in a brighter and
longer comet. If the comet is moving away from the sun, then the comet
is moving pretty much in the same direction as the solar wind and thus
less bombardments. I realize the solar wind is traveling at or near the
speed of light and the comet is moving pretty slow in comparison to the
solar wind, I'm not sure if there would be any measurable or observable
differences.
Any insight would be very much appreciated.