Of all 65-plus constellations available in the heavens over the Northwest during the course of the year, some are bright and some are dim. Some are big and some are small.
The springtime constellation Coma Berenices is both small and dim. Its one redeeming value is that it’s one of those few constellations that sort of looks like what it’s supposed to be: locks of long flowing hair being tossed in a cosmic breeze.
To see Coma Berenices in its true glory you have to get out in the countryside.
Coma Berenices resembles faint strands of hair flowing near the zenith after evening twilight. When it’s finally dark enough, about 10:30 p.m., look for it high in the southwestern sky, just below the Big Dipper’s handle. A pair of binoculars will help in seeking the heavenly hair.
The central attraction of the constellation Coma Berenices is what’s known as the Melotte Star Cluster 111, the celestial hair that we see. It was first cataloged by the famous early astronomer Ptolemy about 138 A.D.
It’s actually one of the closest star clusters to Earth, a little over 250 light-years away (about 1,600 trillion miles).
Like most open clusters, Coma Berenices is a family of hundreds of stars that formed out of the same gaseous nebulae about 400 to 600 million years ago, relatively young stars.
Pan around the vicinity of the Melotte Cluster with a small telescope and you may see little “fuzzies” here and there. Those are actually entire other galaxies of stars in the Virgo Cluster. You’re looking at galaxies that are about 60 million light-years away (one light-year equals near 6 trillion miles).
Coma Berenices is the only constellation named after an actual person. Queen Berenices was the wife of Ptolemy III, a famous Egyptian pharaoh who lived about 200 B.C. The story goes that the great pharaoh was leading his troops into war. Queen Berenices prayed to the gods for his safe return. She promised to cut off all of her beautiful hair if her husband returned safe and sound.
When Ptolemy returned victorious, the queen cut off her hair and dedicated it to the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The local astronomers said the queen’s hair was just too beautiful for a single temple to possess: “Berenices’ hair belongs in the heavens for all to see.”
As you look at Coma Berenices tonight you’ll also observe a new crescent moon and the bright planet Venus in the low western sky. The crescent moon will be so thin it’ll sport what’s called earthshine as sunlight bounces off Earth and onto the moon.
Two other planets, Mars and Saturn, are a little higher up in the western sky. Mars has a definite reddish hue and is just over 30 degrees to the upper left of Venus. That’s about three of fist-widths held at arm’s length. About 25 degrees (or two and a half fist-widths) to the upper left of Mars is Saturn.
Mike Lynch is an astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and is author of the book, “Washington Starwatch,” available at bookstores. Check his website, www.lynchandthestars.com.
The Everett Astronomical Society: www.everettastro.org/.
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