Coma Berenices Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

In ancient Egypt 2000 BC, Coma Berenices's constellation was depicted as a woman and a child in arms in the Dendera calendar.

During the reign of Ptolemy III, the astronomer Conon of Samos would be the first to draw the constellation Coma Berenices on the celestial globe of the library of Alexandria.

According to his words, a new constellation had appeared since Berenice, the wife of the king of Egypt, Ptolemy III, had taken an oath before the goddess Aphrodite in which she would sacrifice her beautiful mane if her husband returned safely from a dangerous mission.

During the eighteenth century, the constellation Coma Berenices was known in English by several names; among some of them were "Berenice's Bush" and "Berenice's periwig."

The oldest known English name for the constellation dates from 1601. It is "Berenices haire," From 1702, the constellation was already known as Coma Berenices.

The International Astronomical Union was in charge of making the constellation Coma Berenice's official name. Since then, the boundaries of its region have not been modified.

In scientific research, Coma Berenices is one of the regions with the most significant galaxies, making it ideal for studying the universe.

The constellation coma Berenices resides in the second quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ2), at latitudes between 70° S and 90° N, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky in every country in the world, including a small section of Antarctica.

Coma Berenices is visible in the USA, Europe, Russia, China, and Japan in the northern hemisphere.

Coma Berenices is visible in Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica in the southern hemisphere.

Coma Berenices is a constellation close to the north pole, so it is visible to the northern hemisphere countries throughout the year.

For the southern hemisphere countries, a part of the constellation is no longer visible in autumn. The best month to see the constellation Coma Berenices is in May.

To locate the constellation Coma Berenices, you must look north of the celestial vault.

Coma Berenices is a small and faint constellation; it is complicated to see it with the naked eye in the sky with a lot of light pollution around.

The best way to locate it is by drawing an imaginary straight line from the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes to the star Regulus in the constellation Leo. Coma Berenices is located between the two.

Coma Berenices' constellations are Canes Venatici, Ursa Major, Leo, Virgo, and Boötes.

In addition, Coma Berenices also belongs to the Ursa Major family of constellations; these include the constellations Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Corona Borealis, Draco, Leo Minor, Lynx, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.

Officially Coma Berenices has 66 stars formally recognized by the International Astronomical Union.

Unlike other constellations, the central figure of Coma Berenices is formed mainly by deep-sky bodies, and only three stars are part of the central figure of the constellation; these are Beta Comae Berenices, Diadem, and Gamma Comae Berenices.

Beta Comae Berenices is a main sequence dwarf star located at about 29.95 light-years from Earth; it is the brightest star in ComaBerenices' constellation.

Located 58 light-years from Earth Alpha Com, it is a main-sequence binary star. It is the second brightest star in the constellation Coma Berenices with an apparent magnitude of 4.29.

It is an evolved K-type giant star located 167 light-years from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 4.36. It is the third brightest star in the constellation Coma Berenices.

Coma Berenices is a small constellation, yet it has a great diversity of deep space bodies, mainly galaxies and globular clusters; these are:

Coma Berenices's constellation is associated with 13 meteor showers; the most important is May Alpha Comae Berenicids.

The May Alpha Comae Berenicids meteor shower occurs between May 1 and 10, and the peak of maximum observation occurs on May 3.

• Coma Berenices is a constellation of the northern celestial hemisphere; its name comes from Latin and means "Berenice's Hair."
• Conon of Samos was the first to draw the constellation Coma Berenices on the celestial globe of the library of Alexandria.
• Although it is in the Northern Hemisphere, Coma Berenices can be seen in all countries of the Southern Hemisphere as well, including a small region of Antarctica.
• The best month to see the constellation Coma Berenices is May.
• Coma Berenices' brightest star is Beta Comae Berenices (β Comae Berenices), with an apparent magnitude of 4.3.
• The best way to locate the constellation Coma Berenices is to draw an imaginary straight line from the star Arcturus of the constellation Bootes to the star Regulus of the constellation Leo. Coma Berenices is located between the two.
• Coma Berenices' most notable deep-sky body is M64, better known as the Black Eye Galaxy.
• The strongest meteor shower in Coma Berenice's is May Alpha Comae Berenicids.

1. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/coma-berenices-constellation/
2. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-coma-berenices.html
3. https://theskylive.com/sky/constellations/coma_berenices-constellation
4. https://www.universeguide.com/constellation/comaberenices