sungrazer
Perihelion-grazing comet
A sungrazer is a comet that passes extremely close to the sun—sometimes within a few thousand kilometers of its surface.
Many sungrazers don't survive the encounter, vaporizing entirely or breaking apart from the intense heat and gravitational stress.
The term is primarily astronomical: The telescope captured images of a sungrazer plunging toward the solar corona.
Orbital point nearest sun
- orbitCurved celestial path
- approachWay of handling something
- closestMost near in distance
- sunwardToward our star
velocity · acceleration · elliptical · trajectory · gravity · proximity · plunge · dive
Star's outermost atmosphere
- photosphereStar's light-emitting surface
- chromosphereStellar atmospheric zone
- sunspotDark stellar surface region
- heliosphereSun-dominated space bubble
radiation · heat · inferno · scorching · vaporization · sublimation · magnetosphere · plasma
Rear animal appendage
- comaUnwakeable unconsciousness
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- debrisScattered broken fragments
- fragmentIncomplete portion of whole
icy · volatile · outgassing · streamer · hydrogen · helium · dust · gas
Overwhelmingly bright or impressive
- brilliantIntensely bright or gifted
- radianceGlowing luminous quality
- luminosityIntrinsic brightness of source
- glowSteady, soft light
flare · brightening · incandescence · spectacular · fireball · blaze · shimmer · flash
Vehicle for outer space
- coronagraphStellar light-blocking telescope attachment
- discoveryAct of finding something
- amateurNonprofessional participant
- telescopeInstrument magnifying faraway objects
observatory · Lovejoy · detection · imaging · monitoring · tracking
perihelion
Orbital point nearest sun
sunward · velocity · acceleration · elliptical · trajectory · gravity · proximity · plunge · dive · inbound
corona
Star's outermost atmosphere
- photosphereStar's light-emitting surface
- chromosphereStellar atmospheric zone
- sunspotDark stellar surface region
heliosphere · radiation · heat · inferno · scorching · vaporization · sublimation · magnetosphere · plasma · evaporation
tail
Rear animal appendage
fragment · icy · volatile · outgassing · streamer · hydrogen · helium · dust · gas · particle
dazzling
Overwhelmingly bright or impressive
- brilliantIntensely bright or gifted
- radianceGlowing luminous quality
- luminosityIntrinsic brightness of source
glow · flare · brightening · incandescence · spectacular · fireball · blaze · shimmer · flash · visible
spacecraft
Vehicle for outer space
- coronagraphStellar light-blocking telescope attachment
- discoveryAct of finding something
- amateurNonprofessional participant
telescope · observatory · Lovejoy · detection · imaging · monitoring · tracking
- cometscomet, Halley's Comet, comet tail, Hale-Bopp, dirty snowball