The 1986 return of Comet Halley was actually the finest of all the 1980's comets. For people in low northern latitudes and the southern hemisphere the comet became a conspicious naked eye comet from late February to April. In fact, from Australia, during most of March the comet and its tail were sufficiently bright for it to be easily recognised by the general public - even without a telescope.

In addition to being a fine comet, Halley also netted a fine harvest of scientific results including the first ever direct images of a cometary nucleus.