The Coma Star Cluster is nearby open cluster in the constellation Coma Berenices. It’s best viewed in the spring.
Open any app or astronomy book with drawings of the constellations. While looking at Coma Berenices, you’ll see a cluster of around 40 stars and few cascading bright stars that make up the queen’s long-flowing hair. In our galaxy, the Coma Star Cluster is one of the closer ones to earth at a distance of 288 light years away.
My Observations
Date: April 30, 2021
Time: 10:20 p.m.
Location: Seattle, Washington
Camera: Canon 70d
Lens: 400mm Tamron
Temp: 54F
Seeing: Average
Transparency: Average
On this night, I’m collecting only photos of the night sky. The dim stars shown above are from a series of stacked photos from my backyard. What’s interesting, the final photo looks like my telescope’s view with a wider-field eyepiece.
Key Stats
| When to view | Spring | R.A. (2021) | 12h 26m 09.14s |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices | Dec (2021) | +25° 59′ 01.4″ |
| Visual Magnitude | +1.79 | Distance | 313 ly |
| Absolute Magnitude | -3.12 Visual | Age | 400 million |
| Apparent Size | 120 arcmin | Milky Way Locations | Orion Spur |
| Diameter | 10.9 ly | My Viewing Grade | A- |
Sources and Notes
Photos by Wayne McGraw
The Garden Astronomer 