A long-period comet discovered on 1996 January 31 by the Japanese amateur astronomer Yuuji Hyakutake (1950–2002). It passed 0.10 au from Earth on March 25, showing a bluish-green gas tail stretching up to 70°, while the head reached magnitude −1. Radar measurements revealed the comet’s nucleus to be 4–5 km in diameter. Its rotation period was 6.23 h. Comet Hyakutake reached perihelion, 0.23 au, on 1996 May 1. The comet’s passage through the inner Solar System increased its orbital period from about 20 000 years to around 100 000 years. The comet’s orbit has an eccentricity of 0.9999 and an inclination of 124°.9.

http://cometography.com/lcomets/1996b2.html Information page at Cometography website.