About Comet 1975 V1

 

Comet 1975 V1 (also known as C/1975n or C/1976 VI or "Comet West") was discovered at the European Southern Observatory on November 5, 1975, on three photographic plates obtained with the ESO 1-m Schmidt telescope at La Silla.

Comet 1975 V1 in early March 1976
[Preview - JPEG - 800 x 1176 pix - 800k]
[Normal size - JPEG - 1500 x 2202 pix - 2.7Mb]
[High-res - JPEG - 3000 x 4404 pix - 7.0Mb]

At the time of discovery, it was a 15-magnitude object, deep in the southern sky. Later, it developed to become an impressive sight from both hemispheres. This was mainly due to the fact that the nucleus split into at least four pieces, This process uncovered fresh surfaces that actively released large quantities of gas and dust. The dust tail displayed intricate structures.

The comet passed perihelion in late February 1976 and was particularly well visible in early March 1976.

A rather complete description by Gary Kronk of the discovery circumstances and the subsequent development of this comet is available on the web at: http://comets.amsmeteors.org/comets/lcomets/1975v1.html.

The links are to different size versions of a now famous photo of this comet. It was obtained in early March 1976 by Peter Stättmayer of the Munich Public Observatory.

Copyright rests with the author and the images may be reproduced for non-profit purposes, if Peter Stättmayer and ESO are stated as source.

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