Constellation Coma Berenices Declination +25° 51′ Apparent magnitude (V) +1.8 | Right ascension 12 22.5 Distance 280 ly (86 pc) Apparent dimensions (V) 7.5° | |
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The Coma Star Cluster in Coma Berenices, designated Melotte 111 after its entry in the catalogue of star clusters by P. J. Melotte, is a small but nearby star cluster in our galaxy, containing about 40 brighter stars (magnitude 5 to 10) with a common proper motion. The Hipparcos satellite and infrared color-magnitude diagram fitting have been used to establish a distance to the cluster's center of approximately 86 parsecs (280 ly). The distance established via the independent analyses agree, thereby making the cluster an important rung on the cosmic distance ladder. The open cluster is roughly twice as distant as the Hyades and covers an area of more than 7.5 degrees on the sky. The cluster is approximately 450 million years old. In the FOV of a good field glass most of its stars can be seen simultaneously. The brighter stars of the cluster make out a distinctive "V" shape as seen when Coma Berenices is rising.
It used to represent Leo's tail, but Ptolemy III, in around 240 BC, renamed it for the Egyptian queen Berenice's sacrifice of her hair in a legend.