Locating the spring cluster of galaxies in Coma Berenices.
How to Find the Constellation of Coma Berenices
The constellation of Coma Berenices, or Berenice's Hair, is located high overhead on spring evenings. It lies between some well-known constellations. Leo the Lion lies to its west, Bootes the Herdsman lies to its east, Virgo lies just to its south, and Ursa Major is a short distance north of Coma Berenices. The shape of Coma Berenices itself is not well defined. The stars of Coma Berenices are all 4th magnitude and dimmer, making them difficult targets from the city. The three 4th magnitude stars form a right triangle, with the right angle near Bootes.
Deep-Sky Objects in Coma Berenices
While the stars of Coma Berenices may be unremarkable, its deep-sky targets are gems. The constellation has eight Messier objects, one of them a globular cluster and the rest part of the spring bounty of galaxies, which extends into neighboring Virgo. There are many other galaxies in Berenices Hair, but the majority of them are too dim to be seen with smaller telescopes.
The single globular cluster, M53, is located 15 degrees west of Arcuturs, the brightest star in Bootes. (It's a little less than halfway between Arcturus and Denebola, the tail star in Leo.) The cluster is magnitude 7.7 and lies approximately 60,000 light-years from both the Milky Way's center and Earth. Smaller telescopes will show the cluster as a fuzzy ball, with larger telescopes able to resolve some of its stars.
Our first target galaxy is a little more than five degrees northwest of M53. This galaxy is M64, nicknamed the Black-eye Galaxy. Its nickname comes from a dark, dusty patch that is obscuring a portion of the galaxy's stars. M64 is magnitude 8.5 and its distance from us is uncertain but may be about 19 million light-years.
The other Messier galaxies in Coma Berenices huddle in the corner and across the border from Denebola, the tail of the lion, just north of Virgo. These galaxies are considered part of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The closest to Denebola lies six degrees to the east and is M98. M98 is a spiral galaxy seen nearly edge-on and shines at magnitude 10. Just over a degree to the east is M99, named the Pinwheel Nebula although it is, in reality, a galaxy. It is a bit brighter at magnitude 9.8. M100 lies a bit less than two degrees north and shines at magnitude 9.4, being the brightest of these three. This face-on spiral galaxy is known as one of the grand-design spiral galaxies, because of their clearly defined structure.
A still-brighter galaxy lies two and a half degrees north of M100. This is M85 at magnitude 9.19 and considered the northernmost of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. M85 is a bright lenticular galaxy with a barred spiral, NGC 4394, just seven arcminutes away. NGC 4394 is magnitude 10.9.
The last two Messier objects are south near the border with Virgo. M88 and M91 lie less than one degree apart. M88 is the brighter of the two at magnitude 9.5, with M91 at magnitude 10.19. M88 is a beautiful spiral galaxy and M91 is a barred spiral.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
