Ephemeris: 05/07/2026 – A constellation of a real person: Coma Berenices
This is Ephemeris for Thursday, May 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 8:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:22. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 2:28 tomorrow morning.
High in the south-southeast at 10:30 p.m. is a tiny and faint constellation of Coma Berenices, or Berenice’s Hair. In it are lots of faint stars arrayed to look like several strands of hair to the naked eye. The whole group will fit in the field of a pair of binoculars, which will also show many more stars. Berenice was a real queen, whose husband, the Pharaoh Ptolemy III, was away at war. Those were the days when the Greeks ruled Egypt. She offered her golden tresses to the gods for the king’s safe return. The hair, was placed in a temple. However, the offering disappeared when the king returned. Later, the constellation of Coma Berenices has been made to commemorate the queen’s sacrifice.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
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