The ultraviolet spectrum of Comet West (1976 VI) in the range 1200-3200 Å was recorded by rocket-borne instruments on March 5.5, 1976. At the time of launch, r = 0.385, Δ = 0.84 and the phase angle was 78°. Longward of 2100 Å the continuum of solar radiation scattered by cometary dust is detected and is found to closely follow the solar spectrum. Since the dust coma is completely included in the spectrometer slit, the ultraviolet albedo can be determined relative to the visible and this ratio is found to be ≈0.3 at 2700 Å. There is evidence for a further decrease in albedo near 2200 Å. Using a visible albedo of 0.2 gives a value of 0.06 for the cometary albedo at 2700 Å, a value similar to that found for the moon and lunar dust in this spectral region.
Ultraviolet Albedo of Comet West (1976 VI)