The comet had first been observed on December 11, 1664.

The comet was missed again in 1985 but has been observed every return since then.

At least 10 comets have been observed crashing into the Sun since 1985.

In its 1846 appearance, the comet was observed to have broken up into two pieces.

Every time this has happened, a great comet has been observed in the sky.

The comet was observed again on 29 January 1998.

He extensively observed comets, and also discovered a couple of asteroids.

The comet was lost after its 1930 apparition, but was observed several more times.

The comet has not been observed since 2002.

This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media, and the comet was closely observed by astronomers worldwide.