Danish astronomer Richard M. West discovered the comet that would bear his name Nov. 5, 1975, in images taken at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile. As this was soon after the Comet Kohoutek debacle, when a much-hyped comet brightened much more slowly than expected and proved a disappointment to the hundreds of Continue reading "Feb. 25, 1976: Comet West reaches perihelion" The post Feb. 25, 1976: Comet West reaches perihelion appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .