By July 2020, it was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye. It is one of the brightest comets in the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997 and was widely observed as being clearly visible with the naked eye. It has been considered by Seiichi Yoshida and Farmer's Almanac as a possible great comet,[4][5][6] and NASA noted that it could become known as a great comet.[7] However, this distinction is usually reserved for comets that are easily observable with the naked eye, even with low to moderate light pollution.