The wind is actually streams of sub-atomic particles projected radially at all directions from the Sun. The curved tail is made up of tiny particles of dust, which have been forced away from the coma by a force only just greater than that attracting the dust to the sun. This force is caused by collisions with the Sun's light. Comets have been known to display enough light to actually cast shadows, especially in the case of the Great Comet of 1861 observed by Schiaparelli. He was also the first person to make the link between comets and meteors.
Comets release particles along a cometary orbit via the tails.
If the Earth passes through this tail the particles burn up as they enter our atmosphere. These are seen to be shooting stars but are actually called meteors. It only take a piece of matter as large as a grain of sand to be a clearly seen meteor, yet a piece that is the size of a grape creates a huge amount of light called a fireball, which can cast shadows. If a piece of this rock actually manages to survive to hit the ground, then it is called a meteorite. The chemical composition of the meteorite gives astronomers clues to it's origin.