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Re: (meteorobs) Interesting Question
>The light from a comet is simply reflected sunlight just like the
>light we see from the moon and the planets. It has nothing to do with
>ionization or the Earth's atmosphere.
>
>Bob Lunsford
>
This is only in part true. Comets can have two tails, a dust tail
as indicated above, and an ion gas tail. The spectrum of the ion tail show
emission bands and lines due to ionized gases present in the tail. This
ionization occurs because of florescent exitation caused by sunlight or
colision of solar particles.
Ed Majden
Amateur Meteor Spectroscopist