Comet HaleBopp Optical image of comet HaleBopp showing its gas and dust tails HaleBopp was one of the brightest comets of the th century Its gas or ion tail blue consists of ionized glowing gas blown away from the comet head by the solar wind The dust tail white consists of grains of dust pushed away from the comet head by the radiation of sunlight Comets have a nucleus of ice and dust As they approach the Sun their surface evaporates releasing a tail millions of kilometres long Comet HaleBopp was discovered on June Photographed on March at Table Mountain in California USA