Dictionary term
Coma Berenices
Direct answer
Coma Berenices is a northern constellation representing Berenice's Hair and containing a broad naked-eye star cluster and many galaxies.
Coma Berenices is a spring constellation marked by a loose cluster of faint stars.
Coma Berenices is a spring constellation marked by a loose cluster of faint stars.
A symbolic locator, not a substitute for an observational chart at a specific place and time.Quick reference
- Use when
- Find the hazy Coma Star Cluster between Leo's tail and the end of the Big Dipper handle.
- Do not use it for
- The nearby Coma Star Cluster and the vastly more distant Coma Galaxy Cluster are entirely different systems.
- Reference category
- Constellations & Star Lore
- Related terms
- Circinus, Columba, Corona Australis, Corona Borealis
The Chapter · Mystery School
Learn to read the sky for yourself
A mystery school of astrology with a worldwide chapter: letters on the chart and the soul, readings under one sky, and a rule of honesty about what the stars can and cannot say.
- The founding letter, with what the school studies and how it meets
- First word each season, when the doors open
- A seat at the gatherings, wherever in the world you are
Reading about Coma Berenices? The chapter is where readers like you meet.
Founding circle · forming now
The list costs nothing. Word of the school and its gatherings, nothing else. Unsubscribe at any time.
The story behind Coma Berenices
The hair was known as an asterism in antiquity and became a separate constellation on early modern European maps.
Coma Berenices in spiritual tradition
Coma Berenices layers nearby stars and remote galaxies along one deceptively quiet line of sight.
Coma Berenices: fact and faith, kept distinct
This is a factual sky reference. It can support wonder and orientation without turning a measured position or inherited pattern into a claim of fate or private revelation.
Coma Berenices in numerology
Coma Berenices is not a numerology claim. Any numbers attached to it should retain their ordinary scientific, calendrical, navigational, or historical meaning unless a separate symbolic interpretation is clearly labeled.
Why Coma Berenices matters
It looks outward through the north galactic pole, giving observers relatively clear views toward the Coma and Virgo galaxy fields.
Coma Berenices at work: an example
Binoculars turn the naked-eye haze of Melotte 111 into a wide scatter of individual stars.
Where interpretation stops
Coma Berenices is presented as sourced astronomy, calendrical, Earth-science, cultural, or instrument-history reference. Definitions should distinguish measured phenomena from civil convention and historical interpretation, preserve location and time dependencies, and avoid turning factual sky data into a deterministic personal claim.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- International Astronomical Union: The Constellations - Official names, abbreviations, and boundaries for the 88 modern constellations.
- NASA Space Place: What Are Constellations? - NASA introduction to constellation regions, patterns, visibility, and seasonal sky changes.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Constellations & Star Lore
- Also appears in
- Constellations & Star Lore
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-16
Open the spring galaxy window
Coma Berenices in a book is one thing; Coma Berenices in your own birth chart is your life. The Oracle casts your real chart and tells you what it means for your love, your work, and your year ahead, in conversation, free.
Speak with the OracleRelated terms
More in Constellations & Star Lore
Common questions
What is Coma Berenices?
Coma Berenices is a northern constellation representing Berenice's Hair and containing a broad naked-eye star cluster and many galaxies.
How is Coma Berenices used in an almanac?
Find the hazy Coma Star Cluster between Leo's tail and the end of the Big Dipper handle.
What should I avoid when interpreting Coma Berenices?
The nearby Coma Star Cluster and the vastly more distant Coma Galaxy Cluster are entirely different systems.
