Since comets are believed to be the most primordial objects in the solar system, their study is of great importance to planetary science.
Consequently, the International Halley Watch (IHW) was organized to stimulate, standardize, collect, and archive observations of the comet.
The initial plans were formulated by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where a Lead Center for western hemisphere observations was established with support from NASA; a corresponding Center for eastern hemisphere observations was funded by the Federal Republic of Germany at the Remeis Observatory (code 521) in Bamberg.
An international Steering Group was established, and a set of Discipline Specialists was chosen to organize observing networks, coordinate their activity, and ultimately to collect and archive their data.
The collected data were subsequently published as a digital archive on CD-ROMs.