Oof. I don’t even want to think about Hale-Bopp.
It was a great-looking comet and captivated the world but I don’t think most realize how unbelievably BIG it was and how devastating it would have been were it to have struck the Earth.
It missed us by over 1 AU. Thank God. Had it hit the Earth, we wouldn’t be here today. It would have released 44 TIMES the energy of the comet that killed the dinosaurs. I’d be surprised if anything other than bacteria inhabited the Earth’s deep rocks after an impact. It would have been beyond Apocalyptic. The Earth’s surface would be nigh sterilized.
I don’t remember if it was particularly visible. Kahoutek and Halley’s were disappointing.