Coma Berenices - Berenice's Hair

Learn about the constellation Coma Berenices - Berenice's Hair, location, facts, mythology, meteor showers and deep space objects.

Coma Berenices is a traditional asterism that has since become a constellation. It is located near Leo and was originally considered Leo's tail.

Location: Northern Spring 12h RA 21° Dec

Coma Berenices contains the North Galactic Pole, at right ascension 12h 51m 25s and declination 27° 07' 48" (epoch J2000.0)

Coma Berenices Mythology

Coma Berenices has been known as a distinct asterism since ancient Greek times. The Eratosthenes referred to it as both Ariadne's Hair and Berenices' Hair. Ptolemy referred to it as the lock (of hair); however, he did not list it as one of his 48 constellations, considering it as part of Leo. For many years, Coma Berenices was considered usually as the tuft in Leo's tail, or sometimes as part of Virgo.

Coma Berenices Deep Space Objects

M64 (NGC 4826) is known as the Black Eye Galaxy because of the prominent dark dust lane in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus.

The Coma Berenicids meteor shower peaks around 18 January. Despite the shower's low intensity (averaging one or two meteors per hour), its meteors are some of the fastest, with speeds up to 65 km/s (40 mps).

In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.