An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A spectacular comet that at its closest approach to Earth reached a brightness of -1 magnitude. It was so bright that could be seen even at sunrise. The comet reached → perihelion on 1976 Feb. 25 at 0.20 A.U. and had a fan-shaped tail of dimensions 25° x 25° x 15° on the sky. A few days after perihelion, the nucleus split in four fragments. The → carbon monoxide (CO) molecule in comets was first detected in West. The comet's orbit has a period of about 500,000 years. Formerly designated 1976 VI.

After the Danish astronomer Richard M. West (1941-), who worked at the → European Southern Observatory (ESO); → comet.