News for Norther Colorado and the world

Friday, March 29, 2024

Posts Tagged ‘Coma Berenices’

Sky Tonight—April 26, Star-hop from Leo to the Coma

Sky Tonight—April 26, Star-hop from Leo to the Coma star cluster

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Our diagram shows the constellation Leo the Lion for about 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight. At this time, the Lion will be due south and at his highest point in the sky. Two distinctive star patterns make the Lion easy to identify. Leo’s brightest star – the sparkling blue-white gem Regulus – dots a backward question mark of stars known as The Sickle. If you see a Lion in this pattern of stars, the Sickle outlines ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—March 14, Leo loses his tail, we

Earthsky Tonight—March 14, Leo loses his tail, we gain a constellation

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s chart again shows the evening sky high to the east. Below and to the left of the constellation Leo the Lion are dozens of very faint stars. They are Coma Berenices, otherwise known as Bernice’s Hair. The Greek-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy and others considered it Leo the Lion’s bushy tail. Coma Berenices remained part of Leo until several hundred years ago, when it was first listed as a separate constellation. The ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—March 12, Tangle of stars in

Earthsky Tonight—March 12, Tangle of stars in Berenice’s Hair

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org What we are about to describe requires a dark sky to be seen: a faraway cluster of stars known as “Coma Berenices.” How can you spot it? One way is to use the famous constellation Leo the Lion, now in the east each evening. Leo is relatively easy to see. The front part of the Lion looks like a backwards question mark, and the back part is a little triangle, which includes the star Denebola, marked on today’s chart. The ... Full Story