Comet West (C/1975 V1-A)

The above image of Comet West was taken in early 1976 and shows both a broad dust tail and a much narrower ion tail. West was the last truly naked-eye comet before the recent arrival of comet Hyakutake this year. Hopefully, comet Hale-Bopp will be a similarly spectacular sight during the late winter and early spring of 1997.