Coma Berenices - Revision history

Sushoff: /* Etymology and History */

2026-02-26T20:34:24Z

Etymology and History

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:34, 26 February 2026
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	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	This figure has only been regarded as a constellation since Tycho Brahe included it in his catalogue in 1602, but the figure itself is ancient. It is treated as an association of faint stars in the constellation Leo; in the ''Almagest'', for example, it is described as a ‘nebulous mass’ representing a ‘curl’.		<ref name=":0">Hoffmann, Susanne M. Wie der Löwe an den Himmel kam. Franckh Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart 2021</ref>This figure has only been regarded as a constellation since Tycho Brahe included it in his catalogue in 1602, but the figure itself is ancient. It is treated as an association of faint stars in the constellation Leo; in the ''Almagest'', for example, it is described as a ‘nebulous mass’ representing a ‘curl’.

	The ''Almagest'' does not define whose curly hair is being represented here. It is not mentioned in Aratos, but the figure appears in Eratosthenes. Interestingly, he mentions it twice and somewhat confusedly: In one of the two surviving text versions of Eratosthenes on the lion, there is a supplement to the list of stars in which he speaks of a triangle of stars next to the lion's tail and calls it the ‘curl of Berenice’. However, the fact that he also mentions a curl in the constellation of the Northern Crown – the curl of Ariadne – causes more confusion. Philologists therefore speculate whether, after Berenice II was removed by her son for political reasons, it was not appropriate for a time to speak of the "Lock of Berenice". There are astronomical reasons against this, but if the curl was – at least temporarily – assigned to Ariadne, this was not permanent, as the cult of Berenice subsequently became more important.		The ''Almagest'' does not define whose curly hair is being represented here. It is not mentioned in Aratos, but the figure appears in Eratosthenes. Interestingly, he mentions it twice and somewhat confusedly: In one of the two surviving text versions of Eratosthenes on the lion, there is a supplement to the list of stars in which he speaks of a triangle of stars next to the lion's tail and calls it the ‘curl of Berenice’. However, the fact that he also mentions a curl in the constellation of the Northern Crown – the curl of Ariadne – causes more confusion. Philologists therefore speculate whether, after Berenice II was removed by her son for political reasons, it was not appropriate for a time to speak of the "Lock of Berenice". There are astronomical reasons against this, but if the curl was – at least temporarily – assigned to Ariadne, this was not permanent, as the cult of Berenice subsequently became more important.

	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation===
	Berenice was the name of several queens of Egypt. According to Eratosthenes, this refers to Berenice II Euergetis, the wife of the Greek ruler Ptolemy III. The royal couple were already revered for their charity during their lifetime: they were regarded as a pair of gods in Egypt and worshipped in Crete and Athens. The constellation is said to have been invented by Konon of Samos in 241 BCE. While Eratosthenes worked as a librarian and teacher of princes in Alexandria, Konon was the king's astronomer.		Berenice was the name of several queens of Egypt.<ref name=":0" /> According to Eratosthenes, this refers to Berenice II Euergetis, the wife of the Greek ruler Ptolemy III. The royal couple were already revered for their charity during their lifetime: they were regarded as a pair of gods in Egypt and worshipped in Crete and Athens. The constellation is said to have been invented by Konon of Samos in 241 BCE. While Eratosthenes worked as a librarian and teacher of princes in Alexandria, Konon was the king's astronomer.

	In Mesopotamia, the panicle of the date palm of the goddess Erua was in this place - neither a tuft of hair nor a curl of a queen.		In Mesopotamia, the panicle of the date palm of the goddess Erua was in this place - neither a tuft of hair nor a curl of a queen.
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	===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===		===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===

	==~~Greek~~ Mythology==		==Mythology==
			'''Greek'''<ref name=":0" />

	The contemporary poet Kallimachos described why Konon invented the constellation, and the Roman poet Catullus translated it into Latin around 200 years later.		The contemporary poet Kallimachos described why Konon invented the constellation, and the Roman poet Catullus translated it into Latin around 200 years later.

IanRidpath: Copyedit

2026-02-17T15:16:50Z

Copyedit

YoulaAzkarrula: /* Almagest */

2026-02-05T14:20:20Z

Almagest

@@ Line 70: / Line 70: @@
+|
 |}
 ===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===

Sushoff at 13:16, 20 January 2026

2026-01-20T13:16:37Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:16, 20 January 2026
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			Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
			----
	[[File:Coma Berenices (com).tif\|thumb\|Coma Berenices, modern boundaries, IAU and Sky & Telescope.]]		[[File:Coma Berenices (com).tif\|thumb\|Coma Berenices, modern boundaries, IAU and Sky & Telescope.]]
	[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|photograph of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]		[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|photograph of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]

Sushoff at 11:00, 17 May 2025

2025-05-17T11:00:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:00, 17 May 2025
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	==== Babylonian ====		==== Babylonian ====

			* [[ERU (Goddess)\|Erua]]'s date palm branch/leaf/spadix
			* [[Sissinnu]] Erua

	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

Sushoff: /* Almagest */

2025-04-26T17:51:35Z

Almagest

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:51, 26 April 2025
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	!		!
	!		!
	!asterism of the Ivy Leaf in [[Leo]]		!asterism of the The Lock/ The Ivy Leaf in [[Leo]]
	!		!
	\|-		\|-

Sushoff: /* Almagest */ added

2025-04-26T17:50:54Z

Almagest: added

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:50, 26 April 2025
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	!ident.		!ident.
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1		!
			!
			!asterism of the Ivy Leaf in [[Leo]]
			!
			\|-
			\|
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|2		\|33
	\|		\|τῆς μεταξὺ τῶν ἄκρων τοῦ Λέουτος καὶ τῆς Ἄρκτου κεφελοειδοῦς σοστροφῆς καλουμένου Πλοκάμου τὸ βορειότατον
	\|		\|The northernmost part of the nebulous mass between the edges of Leo and Ursa [Major], called Coma [Berenices]
	\|		\|15 Com
	\|-		\|-
	\|3		\|34
	\|		\|τῶν νοτίων τοῦ Πλοκάμου ἐξοχῶν ἡ προηγουμένη
	\|		\|The most advanced of the southern outrunners of Coma
	\|		\|7 Com
	\|-		\|-
	\|4		\|35
	\|		\|ἡ ἐπομένη αὐτῶν ἐν σχήματι φύλλου κισσίνου
	\|		\|The rearmost of them, shaped like an ivy leaf
	\|		\|23 Com
	\|-		\|-
	\|5
	\|		\|
	\|
	\|
	\|-
	\|6
	\|		\|
	\|		\|

Sushoff at 17:49, 26 April 2025

2025-04-26T17:49:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:49, 26 April 2025
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			[[File:Coma Berenices (com).tif\|thumb\|Coma Berenices, modern boundaries, IAU and Sky & Telescope.]]
	[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|photograph of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]		[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|photograph of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]
	{{DISPLAYTITLE:Coma Berenices (πλόκαμος)}}		{{DISPLAYTITLE:Coma Berenices (πλόκαμος)}}
	One of the 88 [[wikipedia:International_Astronomical_Union\|IAU]] constellations. The ancient "Greek" constellation originates from Egypt. It has been invented by Konon, the royal astronomer of king [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes Ptolemy III] and it was named after the king's wife, Queen [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Berenice-II Berenice II] Euergetis as reported by Eratosthenes. However, the asterism always used to have names in other cultures. In this area of the sky close the pole of the ecliptic, there are not many bright stars, but a clearly recognizable star cluster of triangular shape (the visual appearance is an isosceles triangle).		One of the 88 [[wikipedia:International_Astronomical_Union\|IAU]] constellations. The ancient "Greek" constellation originates from Egypt. It has been invented by Konon, the royal astronomer of king [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes Ptolemy III] and it was named after the king's wife, Queen [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Berenice-II Berenice II] Euergetis as reported by Eratosthenes. However, the asterism always used to have names in other cultures. In this area of the sky close the pole of the ecliptic, there are not many bright stars, but a clearly recognizable star cluster of triangular shape (the visual appearance is an isosceles triangle).

Sushoff at 07:42, 18 April 2025

2025-04-18T07:42:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:42, 18 April 2025
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	==== Greco-Roman ====		==== Greco-Roman ====

			===== Aratos =====

			===== Eratosthenes =====

			===== Hipparchus =====

			===== Geminos =====

	==== Almagest ====		==== Almagest ====

Sushoff at 06:49, 18 April 2025

2025-04-18T06:49:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:49, 18 April 2025
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	In Mesopotamia, the panicle of the date palm of the goddess Erua was in this place - neither a tuft of hair nor a curl of a queen.		In Mesopotamia, the panicle of the date palm of the goddess Erua was in this place - neither a tuft of hair nor a curl of a queen.

			==== Babylonian ====

			==== Greco-Roman ====

			==== Almagest ====
			{\| class="wikitable"
			!id
			!Greek
			(Heiberg 1898)
			!English
			(Toomer 1984)
			!ident.
			\|-
			\| 1
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|2
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|3
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|4
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|5
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|-
			\|6
			\|
			\|
			\|
			\|}
	===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===		===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation===

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:16, 17 February 2026
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	----		----
	[[File:Coma Berenices (com).tif\|thumb\|Coma Berenices, modern boundaries, IAU and Sky & Telescope.]]		[[File:Coma Berenices (com).tif\|thumb\|Coma Berenices, modern boundaries, IAU and Sky & Telescope.]]
	[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|~~photograph~~ of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]		[[File:Melotte-111.jpg\|alt=photograph Melotte 111\|thumb\|Photograph of the Coma star cluster. This file is from Wikimedia Commons and may be used by other projects. Open cluster Melotte 111, or Coma Star Cluster. http://sternwarte-kempten.de/]]
	{{DISPLAYTITLE:Coma Berenices (πλόκαμος)}}		{{DISPLAYTITLE:Coma Berenices (πλόκαμος)}}
	One of the 88 [[wikipedia:International_Astronomical_Union\|IAU]] constellations. The ancient "Greek" constellation originates from Egypt. It has been invented by Konon, the royal astronomer of king [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes Ptolemy III] and it was named after the king's wife, Queen [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Berenice-II Berenice II] Euergetis as reported by Eratosthenes. However, the asterism always used to have names in other cultures. In this area of the sky close the pole of the ecliptic, there are not many bright stars, but a clearly recognizable star cluster of triangular shape (the visual appearance is an isosceles triangle).		One of the 88 [[wikipedia:International_Astronomical_Union\|IAU]] constellations. The ancient "Greek" constellation originates from Egypt. It has been invented by Konon, the royal astronomer of king [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes Ptolemy III] and it was named after the king's wife, Queen [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Berenice-II Berenice II] Euergetis as reported by Eratosthenes. However, the asterism always used to have names in other cultures. In this area of the sky close the pole of the ecliptic, there are not many bright stars, but a clearly recognizable star cluster of triangular shape (the visual appearance is an isosceles triangle).

	==Etymology and History==		==Etymology and History==
	This figure has only been regarded as a constellation since Tycho Brahe in ~~the 16th century~~, but the figure itself is ancient. It is treated as an association of faint stars in the constellation Leo; in the Almagest, for example, it is described as a ‘nebulous mass’ representing a ‘curl’.		This figure has only been regarded as a constellation since Tycho Brahe included it in his catalogue in 1602, but the figure itself is ancient. It is treated as an association of faint stars in the constellation Leo; in the ''Almagest'', for example, it is described as a ‘nebulous mass’ representing a ‘curl’.

	The Almagest does not define whose curly hair is being represented here. It is not mentioned in Aratos, but the figure appears in Eratosthenes. Interestingly, he mentions it twice and somewhat confusedly: In one of the two surviving text versions of Eratosthenes on the lion, there is a supplement to the list of stars in which he speaks of a triangle of stars next to the lion's tail and calls it the ‘curl of Berenice’. However, the fact that he also mentions a curl in the constellation of the Northern Crown - the curl of Ariadne - causes more confusion. Philologists therefore speculate whether, after Berenice II was removed by her son for political reasons, it was not appropriate for a time to speak of the "Lock of Berenice". There are astronomical reasons against this, but if the curl was - at least temporarily - assigned to Ariadne, this was not permanent, as the cult of Berenice subsequently became more important.		The ''Almagest'' does not define whose curly hair is being represented here. It is not mentioned in Aratos, but the figure appears in Eratosthenes. Interestingly, he mentions it twice and somewhat confusedly: In one of the two surviving text versions of Eratosthenes on the lion, there is a supplement to the list of stars in which he speaks of a triangle of stars next to the lion's tail and calls it the ‘curl of Berenice’. However, the fact that he also mentions a curl in the constellation of the Northern Crown – the curl of Ariadne – causes more confusion. Philologists therefore speculate whether, after Berenice II was removed by her son for political reasons, it was not appropriate for a time to speak of the "Lock of Berenice". There are astronomical reasons against this, but if the curl was – at least temporarily – assigned to Ariadne, this was not permanent, as the cult of Berenice subsequently became more important.

	===Origin of Constellation===		===Origin of Constellation===
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	File:Eruas asterism.jpg\|Sissinu: the branch/ frond/ spadix of the date palm in Babylonian astronomy		File:Eruas asterism.jpg\|Sissinu: the branch/ frond/ spadix of the date palm in Babylonian astronomy
	File:Papke Erua.jpg\|Babylonian Goddess Erua with a frond and a spadix of a date palm (drawn in a map by Papke 1987).		File:Papke Erua.jpg\|Babylonian Goddess Erua with a frond and a spadix of a date palm (drawn in a map by Papke 1987).
	File:IvyLeaf stellarium 2024.jpg\|~~asterism~~ of the Ivy Leaf as described in Ptolemy's Almagest (Stellarium 2024)		File:IvyLeaf stellarium 2024.jpg\|Asterism of the Ivy Leaf as described in Ptolemy's ''Almagest'' (Stellarium 2024)
	File:TheTassel stellarium2024 Arabic.jpeg\|The Tassel (Arabic Indigenous constellation) of the Lion, screenshot from Stellarium (by Khalid al-Ajaji)		File:TheTassel stellarium2024 Arabic.jpeg\|The Tassel (Arabic Indigenous constellation) of the Lion, screenshot from Stellarium (by Khalid al-Ajaji)
	File:Langwei Reconstructed-.jpg\|Chinese constellation Langwei (reconstructed by Boshun Yang)		File:Langwei Reconstructed-.jpg\|Chinese constellation Langwei (reconstructed by Boshun Yang)