C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)

C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) is a sungrazing comet discovered in November 2011 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy. It is notable for being a Kreutz sungrazer, a family of comets believed to be fragments of a single large comet that broke up centuries ago. These comets are characterized by their extremely close perihelion passages around the Sun.

What made C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) particularly remarkable was its survival of its perihelion passage, passing within approximately 140,000 kilometers (87,000 miles) of the Sun's surface. Sungrazing comets often disintegrate completely due to the intense heat and tidal forces, but Lovejoy's comet emerged from behind the Sun, albeit significantly dimmer than before.

Following its perihelion passage, C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) became visible from the Southern Hemisphere as a bright, albeit short-lived, object in the dawn sky. It was widely observed and photographed, providing valuable data for astronomers studying the composition and behavior of comets under extreme conditions. The comet's continued existence after such a close solar encounter remains an area of ongoing scientific interest. Its unexpected survival provided insights into the size, density, and overall structural integrity of the comet's nucleus. While it faded relatively quickly as it moved away from the Sun, C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) remains a significant and well-documented example of a sungrazing comet.