A long-period comet discovered in 1975 November by the Danish astronomer Richard Martin West (1941– ); formerly designated 1976 VI. Comet West reached perihelion (0.20 au) on 1976 February 25. In early March, when closest to Earth at 0.8 au, the comet reached a maximum brightness of magnitude −1. The broad fan-shaped dust tail was 30–35° long. A few days after perihelion, the nucleus split into four fragments. The comet’s orbit has a period of about 500 000 years, eccentricity 0.99997, and inclination 43°.1.

http://cometography.com/lcomets/1975v1.html Information page at Cometography website.