That's when the comet will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 56 million km. At its brightest in March 1996, Hyakutake was a 1st magnitude object sporting a tail that stretched 15 degrees across the sky. In fact, if the comet reaches 4th magnitude it will probably resemble another popular fuzzy blob, our nearest neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda Nebula. The comet might fail to develop or it could be far more striking than expected. Even if the comet eventually reaches 4th magnitude, it will be invisible in light polluted urban areas.
Dark skies are essential.
It will remain a good target for binoculars and small telescopes well into September. On August 20th, telescopic observers in the southern hemisphere will be treated to a rare sight when the 7th magnitude comet passes almost directly in front of the Sombrero galaxy M104. Although the Oort Cloud is speculative, many astronomers believe that it exists and is populated with icy relics from the formation of the solar system more than 4 billion years ago. Occasionally a galactic gravitational perturbation tweaks the orbits of the Oort comets and sends some of them plunging toward the Sun. After it passes by the Sun later this month it may not return for millions of years, if ever.