This periodic comet orbits further from the Sun than Jupiter, and never comes close to Earth, so it's usually a very faint spot of about magnitude 16. However, it's known for sudden outbursts of material that raise its apparent size and brightness.
This was the case here, an outburst having been reported the previous night, making the comet easily visible through the 'scope as a circular blob of about magnitude 10 in the constellation Auriga.