When the eccentricity of a hyperbola a2x2−b2y2=1 decreases towards 1 while a remains fixed, what happens to the separation between its branches?
a) They open out more widely away from the transverse axis.
b) They rotate to align with the conjugate axis.
c) They move closer to the transverse axis and appear almost as straight lines along it.
d) They collapse and practically coincide with their asymptotes.