Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Comet West
Comet West (formally designated C/1975 V1) was a spectacular comet, sometimes considered to qualify for the status of "great comet".
It was discovered by Richard M. West in late 1975 and reached peak brightness in March 1976.
Comet West was what 1973's Comet Kohoutek should have been. Kohoutek was overhyped and underperforming, and West was the exact opposite. If anything, it was underhyped, because no one wanted to get burned again making ambitious predictions. As a result, Comet West was largely unheralded outside the astronomical community.
In the nomenclature of the time, it was known as Comet 1976 VI or Comet 1975n, but the modern nomenclature is C/1975 V1. (Note that "1976 VI" includes the Roman numeral VI = 6, while "C/1975 V1" is the letter V and the number 1).
The comet has an estimated orbital period of 254,000 years.
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