Coma Berenices

Berenice's Hair

A faint spring constellation that is best known for the Coma Star Cluster, a large, loose cluster of stars visible to the naked eye in a dark sky.

Chart drawn as the sky looks when you face the constellation: north is up and east is to the left. Dot size shows brightness, and color hints at temperature. The connecting lines are one common stick figure; other traditions draw them differently.

Best season: Spring
Best months: April through June, high in the sky on spring evenings
Visibility: Visible from everywhere in the United States, best from dark sites
Abbreviation: Com

How to find it

Look midway between Denebola in Leo and Arcturus in Boötes for a hazy patch in a dark sky.
Binoculars show it as a spray of stars.

Brightest stars

Beta Comae Berenices
Alpha Comae Berenices

What to look for

The Coma Star Cluster, a loose cluster that looks like a hazy patch to the naked eye in a dark sky and a spray of stars in binoculars.

Binocular and telescope targets

Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111): a large, loose cluster, best in binoculars
Black Eye Galaxy (M64): a bright spiral galaxy with a dark dust lane
Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565): a galaxy seen edge-on, a favorite for telescopes

Using it to find other things

Coma Berenices lies between Leo and Boötes, below Canes Venatici.

About this constellation

Coma Berenices is a small, faint constellation with a big attraction: the Coma Star Cluster, which looks best in binoculars from a dark site.

It also lies in the direction of the north galactic pole, which means we look out of the Milky Way's disk and see many distant galaxies.

Related guides

Visibility depends on your latitude, the date, and the time of night. The months above assume a typical evening from the contiguous United States, so use a planetarium app to confirm what is up tonight. Never look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope without a proper solar filter.

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