C/1975 V1 (West)
< C
Comet West photographed from the European Southern Observatory on 9 March 1976 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Richard M. West |
| Discovery site | European Southern Observatory |
| Discovery date | 10 August 1975 |
| Designations | |
| 1976 VI, 1975n | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 10 May 1976 (JD 2442908.5) |
| Observation arc | 199 days |
| Number of observations | 113 |
| Aphelion | 1,500 AU (inbound) |
| Perihelion | 0.197 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.99997 |
| Orbital period | ~558,000 years |
| Inclination | 43.074° |
| 118.92° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 358.43° |
| Last perihelion | 25 February 1976 |
| TJupiter | 0.402 |
| Earth MOID | 0.555 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.194 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 1.485 km (0.923 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 5.6 |
| –3.0 (1976 apparition) | |
Comet West, formally designated as C/1975 V1, 1976 VI, and 1975n, was a comet described as one of the brightest objects to pass through the inner Solar System in 1976. It is often described as a "great comet."