Star profile

40 Comae Berenices

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class M · ~3,200 K

What is 40 Comae Berenices

40 Comae Berenices is a rare red M-class variable within Coma Berenices, the small constellation commemorating the hair offered by the Egyptian queen Berenice II. Its brightness drifts slightly over time, the slow pulse of an aged, cooled giant. The light we receive now crossed more than seven hundred years of space before reaching us.

Where it is and when to see it

40 Comae Berenices lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 61° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 72° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 33° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 67° S.

It ranks no. 26 in brightness among the 39 stars of Coma Berenices in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Comae Berenices, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 740 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 40 Comae Berenices

Constellation: Coma Berenices
Apparent magnitude: 5.53
Distance: 736.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 196.594° · Dec 22.616°
Catalogue: HIP 63950 · HD 113866

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Other stars in Coma Berenices

Coma Berenices has 39 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 39 stars in Coma Berenices