2p 20230818 dbartlett

13th Magnitude Comet 2p Encke Nears 2.6 magnitude Iota Aurigae, 2023-08-18
  Although only 13th magnitude atm, Periodic comet 2P should be at it's closest to us, a month from now and predicted to brighten to 10th magnitude.  74 x 60 seconds captured a reasonably large irregularly shaped, diffuse object, with a small faint star-point of a nuclear region.  
The third brightest star in the constellation of Auriga is at the top of the field.
 
Observational details:
Backyard setup
scope: C14 D = 356mm; fl =729mm; F# 2
camera: asi 2600mcP
exposure: 74 x60 sec
Seeing: 4/5
Transparency: 9/10
Observer: DEBartlett
Location: June Lake, California, USA
 
Image Details (all but starless which is at full resolution of 1.06"/pix):
WCS transformation ....... Linear
Projection ............... Gnomonic
Projection origin ........ [953.550905 1436.931316] px -> [RA:  4 57 00.483  Dec: +32 27 30.62]
Resolution ............... 2.128 arcsec/px
Rotation ................. -3.850 deg
Reference system ......... ICRS
Observation start time ... 2023-08-18 09:55:22 UTC
Observation end time ..... 2023-08-18 09:56:22 UTC
Geodetic coordinates ..... 119 04 46 W  37 46 30 N  2357 m
Focal distance ........... 728.96 mm
Pixel size ............... 7.52 um
Field of view ............ 1d 7' 37.8" x 1d 41' 55.4"
Image center ............. RA:  4 57 00.492  Dec: +32 27 30.48
Image bounds:
   top-left .............. RA:  4 59 25.582  Dec: +33 20 31.43
   top-right ............. RA:  4 54 02.619  Dec: +33 15 55.84
   bottom-left ........... RA:  4 59 55.198  Dec: +31 38 49.76
   bottom-right .......... RA:  4 54 38.226  Dec: +31 34 19.33