A number of individuals claimed "discovery", but the comet is thought to have been first spotted by diamond miners in the Transvaal before dawn on January 12, 1910, by which time it was already a prominent naked-eye object of apparent magnitude −1[3] with a declination of −29 (i.e. best seen from the Southern Hemisphere).

The comet reached perihelion on January 17 and was at that time visible in daylight with the unaided eye, having a magnitude of –5[3] due to the forward scattering of light.

[4] Following perihelion, it declined in brightness but became a spectacular sight from the Northern Hemisphere in the evening twilight, its noticeably curved tail reaching up to 50 degrees by early February.

[3] The year 1910 saw considerable media interest in the predicted return of Halley's Comet, which reached perihelion on April 20.

[7] The Morning Post of Camden, New Jersey reported that similar scares happened in past years when comets had been seen.