I had often admired the wispy, stellar site of Coma Berenices, “Berenice’s Hair,” sparking softly in the clear, dark, winter Nebraska skies of my youth. It is hard to see here in Ocala due to surrounding city lights. I was delighted that it showed up as a faint sprinkling of stars clustered near the lower center of this photo taken with my iPhone.
It was named after Queen Berenice II of Egypt who had sacrificed her hair to the gods in exchange for the safe return of Ptolemy from battle. Legend holds that the gift was accepted and enshrined in the sky as a permanent memorial to her devotion.
It forms a triangle with the tail of the “great bear” or “big dipper” and Arcturus (known to Hawaiians as Hōkūle‘a or “Happy Star”). At the lower part of the triangle is the north galactic pole of our Milky Way galaxy marked with a “+” sign.
The whole photograph is an astro-nerd’s delight with blurry trees, and bright stars that memorialize history and frame our place in the universe.
#comaberenices #hokulea #arcturus #stars #milkyway #bigdipper
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 