The tail of a comet is directed away from the sun because

1. A comet typically consists of a nucleus (ice, dust, rock) and, when near the sun, develops a coma (atmosphere) and tails (dust and ion tails). 2. The tail of a comet is generally directed away from the sun. 3. This orientation is caused by two main forces originating from the sun: a. Solar Wind: A stream of charged particles flowing outwards from the sun pushes the ion tail directly away from the sun. b. Solar Radiation Pressure: Photons (light particles) emitted by the sun exert a small but significant outward pressure on the dust particles released from the comet nucleus, pushing the dust tail generally away from the sun (though often slightly curved due to the comet's orbital motion). 4. Centrifugal force (A) is not the primary reason. Attraction by other stars (B) is negligible. The tail's orientation changes based on the comet's position relative to the sun (D is incorrect). Option (C) correctly identifies solar radiation pressure as a key factor.