Lovely piece, Michael
That faint nebulosity is such a tease!
46P has also been a bit of a 3D revelation for me. Not much of a tail, sure, but the reason for this is what actually makes it fascinating! We are just about viewing the comet barreling in towards its perihelion head-on! A very unique geometric angle-come-apparition
. The orbital position of both comet & Earth timed this apparition to provide a reminder that things in space are happening in 3 dimensions. Sure we know this is the case, but every now and then it's these little line of sight coincidences spice things up again.
I viewed 46P from a dark site last new Moon through a 17.5" dob -
HUGE sucker! It's coma more than a whole degree in diameter! Wee tail was difficult to spot, but at the same time this apparition made for the focus to be entirely about a comet's coma, and not just about its tail
And in astronomical terms, 46P came in REALLY close to us! O.075AU!! Just about reach out and touch it
46P is not a particularly spectacular comet - short period comets never are except for Halley's. But this little beastie has made its own imact this time around
Alex.