It was independently discovered by Nell de Bréauté at Dieppe on December 29, by Jean-Louis Pons on the morning of December 30, and by Wilhelm von Biela at Prague on the same morning.

[2] It was already visible to the naked eye when discovered: Pons initially thought he was seeing smoke from a chimney rising over a hill, but continued observing when he noticed it did not change appearance.

He was later to note that the comet was, puzzlingly, more easily visible to the naked eye than through a telescope.

[2] Biela also noted that it was noticeable brighter than the Great Comet of 1819 had been.

[2] The comet was particularly known at the time for exhibiting two tails, one pointing away from the Sun and the other (termed an "anomalous tail" by Karl Harding and Heinrich Olbers)[3] pointing towards it.