sungrazer

plural sungrazers

1. astronomyA sungrazing comet

   At least one sungrazer has been observed by a spacecraft to actually be destroyed as it rammed the photosphere.

   1991, Gregory L. Matloff, The urban astronomer, page 187

   2 more examples

   But Comet Howard-Koomen-Michels (Solwind-1) is apparently the only sungrazer that produced a detectable effect on the appearance of the Sun's corona (Michels et.al., 1982; Sheeley et.al., 1982).

   1992, C. Mattok, Coronal streamers, coronal loops, and coronal and solar wind composition, page 127

   And there is no telling when another great sungrazer might come. But speculation about the splitting of sungrazers brings us to consider the origins of the Kreutz group.

   1997, Fred Schaaf, Comet of the Century: From Halley to Hale-Bopp, page 73