The comet then was located near ζ Puppis and its apparent magnitude was estimated by the Lowell Observatory to be 8 two days later.

[6] At the end of February and early March the comet became visible by naked eye, as it crossed the constellations of Eridanus and Cetus.

[5] The comet reached its perihelion on 1 April 1962, at a distance of about 4 million km (0.027 AU) from the Sun, and although it should have been bright enough, no daylight observations were reported.

[5] After perihelion the comet became visible in the northwestern evening twilight on 3 April, with an estimated magnitude of -2.5.

[8] The comet faded rapidly during April, as its distance to both the Sun and Earth increased and could no longer be observed by the end of the month.