A faint spring constellation which has lots of stories attached to it. Although it is classed as a modern constellation it seems to have been added to the sky by Tycho Brahe, the last of the great pre telescopic astronomers put it onto a star chart shortly before he died in 1601 calling the constellation Coma Berenices.
Tye earliest record we have of the constellation appears to
go back to Eratosthenes 276 BCE – 194 BCE who described it as Ariadne’s Hair.
However, for around 2,000 years its place among the constellations seemed
uncertain. It was sometimes seen as part of the tail of Leo or connected with
Virgo.
The Dresden Globe which is believed to have been made by the
Arab astronomer Nasir al- Din al -Tusi around the year 1288 CE shows the
constellation as an Ivy Wreath. This globe was acquired in 1562 by August,
Elector of Saxony.
The early Arabic astronomers saw it very differently they
called it Al Haud or the Pond into which the gazelle which is our Leo Minor
sprang when frightened at the lashing of the lion’s tail. However, some Arabic
astronomers claimed that this pond lay among the stars of the neck, breast and
knees of the Great Bear. In yet another Arabic view of the constellation Coma
Berenices is seen as Al Halbah The Coarse Hair or Tuft in the tail of the lion
in the zodiac, thus making our modern constellation of Leo much larger and
extending beyond its modern boundaries.
Come Berenices appears to have been known to the Egyptians
as The Many Stars. While the Chinese divided the constellation u into several
smaller groups. These included Chow Ting, The Imperial Cauldron of the Chow
Dynasty, Lang Tseang A General, Shang Tseang A Higher General and Tsae, The
Favourite Vassal. The fact that there are so many small groups in this
constellation indicates a great interest in the constellation by the Chinese.
None of the three brightest stars can be seen if there is any mist or moonlight in the sky as they are all faint stars.
The brightest star in Coma Berenices is beta which has no
name has a magnitude of 4.2, it is 30
light years away and is a F class star making it hotter than the Sun.
Alpha which is also known as Diadem which means Braid is
slightly fainter at magnitude 4.3 and is 58 light years away.
Gamma is a K class giant star cooler than the Sun, it has a
magnitude of 4.4 and is 169 light years away. Gamma is the brightest member of
the Coma Star Cluster, a galactic cluster of stars the brightest ones are just
visible to the naked eye on the very clearest of nights. It was known to Greek
astronomers 2,000 years ago and was recorded by Ptolemy in his great work on
Greek astronomy in around 150CE. In all there are around 40 stars in the
cluster. An interesting note about the Coma Cluster is that it does not have a
NGC New General Catalogue number of a Messier Catalogue number.
There is a myth attached to the Coma Cluster it is very
famous, and it involves Queen Berenice II of Egypt, who was queen to King
Ptolemy III. We are told that the queen will cut off her yellow hair as a
sacrifice I the temple of Aphrodite in Zeph if her husband the king returns
safely follow a battle. He does then she cuts her hair and places it in temple
from where it mysteriously vanishes. A court official named Conon told the
couple that the gods have taken her hair and placed it in the sky forever in the
constellation of Coma Berenices.
There are 8 messier objects in Coma Berenices
M53
A globular cluster with a magnitude of 7.7.3 it lies 17,800
light years away. Messier saw it in 1779.
M64
I cannot resist mentioning one galaxy that you would need a
telescope to find this is M64, the Black Eye Galaxy which was discovered by
Edward Pigott in 1779 while living at
Frampton House, Llantwit Major in Wales.
It is called the Black Edye Galaxy because of the amount of dust near
the galaxy which gives the impression of a black eye.
Edward Pigott would go onto York to work with the deaf
astronomer John Goodricke and I christened them ‘Fathers of Variable Star
Astronomy’ because of their work on variable stars. It was seen by Messier in
1780. Mag 8.5, and is around 17 million light years away
Coma group of galaxies
M85
A lenticular or elliptical galaxy lying at about 60 million
light years away. At Magnitude 10 you would need a telescope to see it. There
appears to be a super massive black hole at the centre of M85. It was seen by
Messier in 1781
M88
A spiral galaxy 60 million light years away, magnitude 10.4 again a telescope needed to see it, another super massive black hole in this galaxy. Seen by Messier in 1781
M99
A face on spiral galaxy at magnitude 10.4 it can only be
seen with a telescope. 4 Supernova have been seen in M99, they were in 1967,
1972, 1986, 2014. The spiral nature of the galaxy first seen by Lord Rosse in
1846 using his 72 in h telescope at Bir Castle in Ireland. It was seen by
Messier in 1781.
M100
Another face on spiral galaxy magnitude 9.5 again a
telescope is needed to see it, seen by Messier in 1781, William Herschel
described it as a bright cluster of stars. No less than 7 Supernova have been
seen in M100, they were in 1901, 1914, 1959, 1979, 2006, 2019.
There are large numbers of galaxies in Coma Berenices, some
are part of the Coma Supercluster of galaxies, while some are part of the Virgo
Cluster There are also many NGC objects visible with in telescopes in Coma
Berenices.
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