Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. For scale, the size and position of the Sun's edge are outlined by the white quarter circle on the occulting disk. The Sungrazer comets approach from below and have visible tails. The lower comet's coma is bright enough to cause a horizontal blemish in the digital image, while the tail of the upper comet grows dramatically as it closes with the Sun. Members of the Sungrazer family can pass within 400,000 miles or less of the solar surface and many, like this pair, do not survive.
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