Luboš Kohoutek was a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, including Comet Kohoutek which was visible to the naked eye in 1973.
He also discovered a large number of planetary nebulae.
Kohoutek in 1974
Kohoutek at NASA Johnson Space Center mission control center during Skylab 4 mission talking with the astronauts on board about the Comet Kohoutek observations
Comet Kohoutek is a comet that passed close to the Sun towards the end of 1973. Early predictions of the comet's peak brightness suggested that it had the potential to become one of the brightest comets of the 20th century, capturing the attention of the wider public and the press and earning the comet the moniker of "Comet of the Century". Although Kohoutek became rather bright, the comet was ultimately far dimmer than the optimistic projections: its apparent magnitude peaked at only –3 and it was visible for only a short period, quickly dimming below naked-eye visibility by the end of January 1974.
Comet Kohoutek on 11 January 1974 as seen from Catalina Observatory
Luboš Kohoutek, eponymous discoverer of Comet Kohoutek, at the mission control center at Johnson Space Center speaking with the astronauts of Skylab 4 during the passage of the comet in January 1974
False color image of Comet Kohoutek as photographed with a far-ultraviolet electrographic camera during a Skylab spacewalk on 25 December 1973
Sequence of images of Kohotuek at perihelion taken via coronagraph
