Comet Ikeya-Seki (C/1965 S1)

A particularly brilliant comet, discovered on 18 September 1965 by two Japanese amateur astronomers. It was especially conspicuous in the southern hemisphere after it had passed perihelion. It belonged to the group of comets known as sungrazers, characterized by their very small perihelion distances, as a result of which they travel through the Sun's outer layers.