When the comet comes close to the Sun, the dust and gas is pushed away from the comet's head. This extension from the coma is called the tail. Tails typically point away from the Sun. They can be straight, curved, or fan-shaped. A comet can have more than one tail.
Tails can be quite bright or rather faint.
The size of the full Moon. Two full Moons or one finger held at arm's length. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc. The positions will be close for all the USA and Canada. Times for Moonset are specific to Southern California, but will be close across North America.