Comet 88p/ Howell has a period of about 5.5 years and a perihelion distance of around 1.35 AU following a close approach to Jupiter in 1978. Prior to this, its perihelion distance was around 1.9 AU. During a favourable return the comet may reache around 7th magnitude. The 2015 return was fairly favourable and the comet peaked at around 9th magnitude.