High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Comet Hyakutake (Japanese pronunciation: , formally designated C/1996 B2) is a comet, discovered on January 31, 1996, which passed very close to Earth in March of that year. It was dubbed The Great Comet of 1996; its passage near the Earth was one of the closest cometary approaches of the previous 200 years. Hyakutake appeared very bright in the night sky and was widely seen around the world. The comet temporarily upstaged the much anticipated Comet Hale-Bopp, which was approaching the inner Solar System at the time.