Coma star cluster

--> Cluster
name = Coma Star Cluster


caption=Melotte 111, taken from a rural location in Derbyshire, England in March 2003.
epoch = J2000
class =
constellation = Coma Berenices
ra = RA|12|22.5cite web
title=SIMBAD Astronomical Database
work=Results for Coma Star Cluster
url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/Simbad
accessdate=2006-11-28 ]
dec = DEC|+25|51
dist_ly = 288 lyFact|date=February 2007
dist_pc = 88.3 pc
appmag_v =
size_v = 5°Fact|date=February 2007
mass_kg = -
mass_msol = -
radius_ly = -
v_hb = -
age = -
notes =
names = Melotte 111, Coma Ber Cluster, OCl 558.0

"Not to be confused with the Coma cluster of galaxies."

The Coma Star Cluster in Coma Berenices, designated Melotte 111 after its entry in the catalogue of deep sky objects by P. J. Melotte, is a small but nearby "star cluster" in our galaxy, containing about 40 stars (magnitude 5 to 10) with a common proper motion. It used to be known to represent Leo's tail, but Ptolemy III, in around 240 BC, renamed it for the Egyptian queen Berenice's sacrifice of her hair in a legend. The open cluster has a distance of 288 light-years - roughly twice as distant as the Hyades - and covers an area of more than 5 degrees on the sky. The cluster is approximately 450 million years old. In the FOV of a good field glass most of its stars can be seen simultaneously. It is situated in the constellation Virgo.

Shown are 2 images of Melotte 111, taken from a rural location in Derbyshire, England in March 2003, exposed for about 30 seconds with a normal film camera. The brighter stars of the cluster make out a distinctive "V" shape as seen when Coma Berenices is rising. The slightly orange background is caused by light pollution coming from nearby cities. The below image is the same photo with labels added. The position of Gamma Coma Berenices is shown, as are the constellation outlines (orange), constellation boundaries (blue), and lines of equal right ascension and declination (green).

External links

* [http://www.univie.ac.at/webda/cgi-bin/ocl_page.cgi?dirname=mel111 WEBDA open cluster database webpage on Coma Ber cluster] - E. Pauzen (Univ. Vienna)

See also

* Astronomy, Spectral analysis, 2MASS

References