The solar wind & interstellar dust penetrate the electrically charged coma (plasma) surrounding the nucleus and blast comet ions, comet dust & fragments off the Halley's comet. The Nucleus   is composed of antimatter and range in size from less than a kilometer to hundred kilometers in diameter with masses as large as a trillions of metric tons.  The matter-antimatter annihilations produce the light, x-rays, other radiation. Interstellar dust is responsible for the unexpected outburst and anti-tails that are sometimes created when interstellar dust particles hit the center of the nucleus. If a small asteroid hits the nucleus, the resulting explosion may split the nucleus into fragments, which is what many have happened to the Comet LINEAR 1999 S4. 

A Coma is a plasma and ranges in size from 1,000 to 100,000 kilometers in diameter and is created from the interaction of the solar wind, interstellar dust, comet ions, comet dust & fragments.  The coma is similar to the magnetosphere around the Earth.  The production rates increase as the coma envelopes more solar wind & interstellar dust. The matter-antimatter annihilations are responsible for reducing the amount of hydrogen & other elements contained in the solar wind and interstellar dust.

The plasma Tail  is composed of the debris from the nucleus and coma.  Matter-antimatter annihilations continue to take place in the tail.  The length gets longer & bigger as the comet gets closer to the sun and range in size from a million to 100 million kilometers in length (distance from the earth to the sun).

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