Comet Kohoutek it isn’t.

A couple of years ago, Kohoutek blazed across the newspaper headlines with huge advance publicity. But when the comet approached the earth’s horizon, Kohoutek fizzled out.

Comet West has come with much less fanfare.

It also, according to John Paulsen, instructor at Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, has been a more impressive comet. The college has a pair of German World War II tank binoculars available for viewing such phenomenon.

But with West, Paulsen says, the binoculars aren’t needed.

Getting up at 4 a.m. Saturday to photograph the comet, he was able to see it from his window. Comet West, Paulsen estimates, is 10to 100 times brighter than the much-acclaimed Comet Kohoutek.

It is also a bit more unusual. A photograph taken with only a 50 mm lens mounted on a tripod with a one-minute time exposure clearly shows the comet’s split tail, a feature that Paulsen points out is unique among comets.

The best time for viewing Comet West is over, although it should stil1 be within sight of the naked eye for about another month in the New Ulm area.

The peak time for viewing, Paulsen says, was Saturday when he photographed the comet at about 5 a.m.

Now, however, the moon will be gradually getting higher in the sky and thus interfering with viewing of the comet, he says.

For those who’d still like to take a look, however, the comet can be seen shortly before dawn on New Ulm’s eastern horizon, about 20 degrees into the sky.

New Ulm Daily Journal

March 15, 1976

Right: COMET WEST soars over New Ulm Ulm’s eastern horizon early Saturday morning. The photo was taken with a 50 mm lens mounted on a tripod with a one-minute time exposure. (Photos courtesy of John Paulsen)