:there is another long-period comet west: c/1978 a1 (a.k.a. 1977 ix, 1978a).  comet west formally designated c/1975 v1, 1976 vi, and 1975n, was an exceptionally eye-catching comet, sometimes considered to qualify for the status of "great comet". == history == it was discovered photographically by richard m. west, of the european southern observatory, on august 10, 1975. the comet came to perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on february 25, 1976. during perihelion the comet had a minimum solar elongation of 6.4Â° and as a result of forward scattering reached a peak brightness of -3. from february 25 through the 27th, observers reported that the comet was bright enough to study during full daylight. despite its spectacular appearance, comet west went largely unreported in the popular media. this was partly due to the relatively disappointing display of comet kohoutek in 1973, which had been widely predicted to become extremely prominent: scientists were wary of making predictions that might raise public expectations.burnham, r. and levy, d. great comets, cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000, p. 73 ==period== with a nearly parabolic trajectory, estimates for the orbital period of this comet have varied from 254,000 to 558,000 years, and even as high as 6.5 million years.{{cite web |author=horizons output |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&ss
1975_in_science Astronomical_objects_discovered_in_1975 Destroyed_comets Non-periodic_comets