According to Worf's calculations, the comet was approaching perihelion, its closest distance to the white dwarf, and thus the height of brilliance for its gaseous tail.
Observations taken in January and February 2002 showed that the object had developed a small amount of cometary activity as it approached perihelion.
At the time of discovery, it approached perihelion once every 5.68 years (designations 9P/1867 G1 and 1867 II).
An astronaut is stranded on Icarus as it approaches perihelion.
The resonance ensures that, when they approach perihelion and Neptune's orbit, Neptune is consistently distant (averaging a quarter of its orbit away).
The comet brightened steadily as it approached perihelion.
As Jupiter approached perihelion in March 2011, there was a favorable opposition in September 2010.
Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.
As the two stars approach perihelion- their closest distance to each other- there is a flare-up of radiation across the EM spectrum, lasting approximately two hours.
The comet was rapidly approaching perihelion when it was discovered.