When we think of astronomy, we usually think of peering through a telescope at some faint fuzzy out in deep space. But the good news for beginners who may not own a telescope is that some deep sky objects are best seen through a pair of binoculars (which really are just a pair of small telescopes anyway.) One such object is the Coma Star Cluster (officially known as Melotte 111) in Coma Berenices. At a distance of 288 light-years, this open cluster is close enough to cover more than five degrees of sky. With only about 40 stars, it’s not one of the more densely packed clusters. But the good news is that a dozen or so of the stars are bright enough to be seen even from light polluted areas.
Finding the Coma Star Cluster is easy as it lies almost halfway between two bright stars. Start with Denebola, the bright star at the “tail” of Leo, and look toward Cor Caroli. The Coma Star Cluster will be right in between. If you’re not sure which star is Cor Caroli, look toward the end of the Big Dipper’s handle when moving away from Denebola. Cor Caroli will be about two thirds of the way to Alkaid, the star at the end of the handle.
