| Constellation | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | Com |
|---|---|
| Genitive | Comae Berenices |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkoʊmə bɛrəˈnaɪsiːz/, genitive /ˈkoʊmiː/ |
| Symbolism | Berenice's hair |
| Right ascension | 11h 58m 25.0885s–13h 36m 06.9433s[1] |
| Declination | 33.3074303°–13.3040485°[1] |
| Area | 386 sq. deg. (42nd) |
| Main stars | 3 |
| Bayer/Flamsteed stars | 44 |
| Stars with planets | 5 |
| Stars brighter than 3.00m | 0 |
| Stars within 10.00 pc (32.62 ly) | 1 |
| Brightest star | β Com (4.26m) |
| Messier objects | 8 |
| Meteor showers | Coma Berenicids |
| Bordering constellations | Canes Venatici Ursa Major Leo Virgo Boötes |
| Visible at latitudes between +90° and −70°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of May. | |
Coma Berenices is an ancient asterism in the northern sky, which has been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is in the direction of the fourth galactic quadrant, between Leo and Boötes, and it is visible in both hemispheres. Its name means "Berenice's Hair" in Latin and refers to Queen Berenice II of Egypt, who sacrificed her long hair as a votive offering.[2] It was introduced to Western astronomy during the third century BC by Conon of Samos and was further corroborated as a constellation by Gerardus Mercator and Tycho Brahe. It is the only modern constellation named after a historic person.[a]
The constellation's major stars are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Comae Berenices. They form a half square, along the diagonal of which run Berenice's imaginary tresses, formed by the Coma Star Cluster. The constellation's brightest star is Beta Comae Berenices, a 4.2-magnitude main sequence star similar to the Sun. Coma Berenices contains the North Galactic Pole and one of the richest-known galaxy clusters, the Coma Cluster, part of the Coma Supercluster. Galaxy Malin 1, in the constellation, is the first-known giant low-surface-brightness galaxy. Supernova SN 1940B was the first scientifically observed (underway) type II supernova. FK Comae Berenices is the prototype of an eponymous class of variable stars. The constellation is the radiant of one meteor shower, Coma Berenicids, which has one of the fastest meteor speeds, up to 65 kilometres per second (40 mi/s).
- ^ a b "Coma Berenices, constellation boundary". The Constellations. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "Coma Berenices". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins.
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