| Return cycle | Designation | Year BC/AD | Gap (years) | Date of perihelion | Observation interval | Earth approach | Maximum brightness | Description |
| −29 | 1P/−239 K1 | 240 BC | – | 30 March | May – June | | | First confirmed sighting |
| −28 | 1P/−163 U1 | 164 BC | 76 | 17 November? | October – November | | | Seen by Babylonians |
| −27 | 1P/−86 Q1 | 87 BC | 77 | 2 August | 9 July – 24 August | | | Seen by the Babylonians and Chinese |
| −26 | 1P/−11 Q1 | 12 BC | 75 | 5 October | 26 August – 20 October | 0.16 au | −5 mag | Watched by Chinese for two months |
| −25 | 1P/66 B1 | 66 | 77 | 26 January | 31 January – 10 April | | −7 mag | May be the comet described in Josephus's The Jewish War as "A comet of the kind called Xiphias, because their tails appear to represent the blade of a sword" that supposedly heralded the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. |
| −24 | 1P/141 F1 | 141 | 75 | 22 March | March 27 – late April | | −4 mag | Described by the Chinese as bluish-white in colour |
| −23 | 1P/218 H1 | 218 | 77 | 17 May | early May – mid June | | −4 mag | Described by the Roman historian Dion Cassius as "a very fearful star" |
| −22 | 1P/295 J1 | 295 | 77 | 20 April | 1–30 May | | −3 mag | Seen in China, but not spectacular |
| −21 | 1P/374 E1 | 374 | 79 | 17 February | 4 March – 2 April | 0.09 au | −3 mag | Comet passed 13.5 million kilometres from Earth. |
| −20 | 1P/451 L1 | 451 | 77 | 24 June | 10 June – 15 August | | −3 mag | Comet appeared before the defeat of Attila the Hun at the Battle of Chalons. |
| −19 | 1P/530 Q1 | 530 | 79 | 26 September | 29 August – 23 September | | −3 mag | Noted in China and Europe, but not spectacular |
| −18 | 1P/607 H1 | 607 | 77 | 13 March | March – April | 0.09 au | −4 mag | Comet passed 13.5 million kilometres from Earth. |
| −17 | 1P/684 R1 | 684 | 77 | 28 October | September – October | | −2 mag | First known Japanese records of the comet. Attempts have been made to connect an ancient Maya depiction of God L to the event. |
| −16 | 1P/760 K1 | 760 | 76 | 22 May | May 17 – mid June | | −2 mag | Seen in China, at the same time as another comet |
| −15 | 1P/837 F1 | 837 | 77 | 28 February | 22 March – 28 April | 0.033 au | −3 mag | Closest-ever approach to the Earth (5 million km). Tail stretched halfway across the sky. Appeared as bright as Venus. |
| −14 | 1P/912 J1 | 912 | 75 | 9 July | July | | −2 mag | Seen briefly in China and Japan |
| −13 | 1P/989 N1 | 989 | 77 | 9 September | August – September | | −1 mag | Seen in China, Japan, and (possibly) Korea |
| −12 | 1P/1066 G1 | 1066 | 77 | 23 March | 3 April – 7 June | 0.10 au | −4 mag | Seen for over two months in China. Recorded in England and depicted on the later Bayeux tapestry which portrayed the events of that year. |
| −11 | 1P/1145 G1 | 1145 | 79 | 21 April | 15 April – 6 July | | −2 mag | Depicted on the Eadwine Psalter, with the remark that such "hairy stars" appeared rarely, "and then as a portent" |
| −10 | 1P/1222 R1 | 1222 | 77 | 30 September | 3 September – 8 October | | −1 mag | Described by Japanese astronomers as being "as large as the half Moon... Its colour was white but its rays were red" |
| −9 | 1P/1301 R1 | 1301 | 79 | 24 October | 1 September – 31 October | | −1 mag | Seen by Giotto di Bondone and included in his painting The Adoration of the Magi. Chinese astronomers compared its brilliance to that of the first-magnitude star Procyon. |
| −8 | 1P/1378 S1 | 1378 | 77 | 9 November | 26 September – 11 October | | −1 mag | Passed within 10 degrees of the north celestial pole, more northerly than at any time during the past 2000 years. This is the last appearance of the comet for which eastern records are better than Western ones. |
| −7 | 1P/1456 K1 | 1456 | 78 | 9 June | 27 May – 8 July | | 0 mag | Observed in Italy by Paolo Toscanelli, who said its head was "as large as the eye of an ox", with a tail "fan-shaped like that of a peacock". Arabs said the tail resembled a Turkish scimitar. Turkish forces attacked Belgrade. |
| −6 | 1P/1531 P1 | 1531 | 75 | 25 August | 1 August – 8 September | | −1 mag | Seen by Peter Apian, who noted that its tail always pointed away from the Sun. This sighting was included in Halley's table. |
| −5 | 1P/1607 S1 | 1607 | 76 | 27 October | 21 September – 26 October | | 0 mag | Seen by Johannes Kepler. This sighting was included in Halley's table. |
| −4 | 1P/1682 Q1 | 1682 | 75 | 15 September | 15 August – 21 September | | 0 mag | Seen by Edmond Halley at Islington |
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| −2 | 1P/1835 P11835 III | 1835 | 77 | 16 November | 5 August 1835 – 19 May 1836 | | 0 mag | First seen at the Observatory of the Roman College in August. Studied by John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope. |
| −1 | 1P/1909 R11910 II1909c | 1910 | 75 | 20 April | 25 August 1909 – 16 June 1911 | 0.151 au | 0 mag | Photographed for the first time. Earth passed through the comet's tail on 20 May. |
| 0 | 1P/1982 U11986 III1982i | 1986 | 76 | 9 February | Astronomers are now able to observe the comet at every point in its orbit. | 0.417 au | +2 mag | Reached perihelion on 9 February, closest to Earth (63 million km) on 10 April. Nucleus photographed by the European space probe Giotto and the Soviet probes Vega 1 and 2. |
| 1 | | 2061 | 75 | 28 July | | 0.477 au | | Next return with perihelion on 28 July 2061 and Earth approach one day later on 29 July 2061 |
| 2 | | 2134 | 73 | 27 March | | 0.092 au | | Subsequent return with perihelion on 27 March 2134, and Earth approach on 7 May 2134 |
| 3 | | 2209 | 75 | 3 February | | 0.515 au | | Best-fit for February 2209 perihelion passage and April Earth approach |
