Comet Encke (2P/Encke) is a periodic comet that completes an orbit of the Sun once every 3.3 years. This is the shortest period of a bright comet. 2P/Encke was first recorded by Pierre Méchain in 1786, but it was not recognized as a periodic comet until 1819 when the German astronomer Johann Franz Encke computed its orbit. Like most comets, it has a very low albedo, reflecting only 4.6% of the light it receives. The diameter of the nucleus of Encke's Comet is 4.8 km. This image shows the comet on the evening of 23 February 2017 at 17:35 UT. Despite of the low brightness, clearly visible are the two tails - dust (to the left) and ion (to the right).