These comets pass extremely close to the surface of the Sun—within a few solar radii—and often become very bright as a result.

First observed in early February, 1843, it raced toward an incredibly close perihelion of about 827,000 km (~131,000 km from the surface of the Sun) on February 27, 1843; at this time it was observed in broad daylight roughly a degree away from the Sun.

[4] It passed closest to Earth on March 6, 1843, at a distance of 0.84 AU,[4] and was at its greatest brilliance the following day; unfortunately for observers north of the equator, at its peak it was best visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

There is a painting in the National Maritime Museum that was created by astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth with the purpose of showing the overall brightness and size of the tail of the comet.

13 in Instructor filarmónico, periódico semanario musical, Tomo primero (Mexico, 1843)