The Coma Star Cluster is a sprawling open cluster in Coma Berenices, so close to us that its stars spread across a patch of sky wider than a fist.
At a glance
| type | open star cluster |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 278 light-years (85.3 pc) |
| its light left it | 278 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 24 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About Coma Star Cluster
Below the tail of Leo lies a loose scattering of faint stars visible to the naked eye on a dark night. It is a real cluster, a group of stars born together and moving through space as one, and it is among the nearest open clusters to the Sun.
Its closeness is also what makes it hard to see as a cluster: it covers too much sky to fit in most telescopes, and binoculars show it best. The constellation takes its name from the legend of Queen Berenice, who offered her hair to the gods, and the cluster has long been seen as that lock of hair.
What you see in the piece
From Earth it is a fine spray of stars; fly there and the members stay together while the unrelated foreground and background stars fall away.
Questions
How far away is the Coma Star Cluster?
The Coma Star Cluster is about 278 light-years (85.3 pc) from the Sun.
How do you find the Coma Star Cluster?
Look between Leo’s tail star Denebola and Arcturus; on a dark night it is a loose spray of faint stars, best seen in binoculars.