Coma cluster


Coma cluster

A very rich cluster of galaxies, near the north galactic pole, in the constellation Coma Berenices that contains at least 1000 bright elliptical and S0 galaxies. It is about 6 megaparsecs in diameter and is in the form of two equal subclumps, each with a central dominant galaxy associated with a radio source: an elliptical, NGC 4889, and an S0 galaxy, NGC 4874. The cluster is about 90 megaparsecs distant and is moving away from Earth at approximately 6700 km s–1.

Coma cluster

[′kō·mə ‚kləs·tər] (astronomy) A group of over 1000 bright galaxies having a recession velocity of about 4300 miles (6900 kilometers) per second. An open cluster of about 100 stars at a distance of about 80 parsecs (1.5 × c1015 miles or 2.5 × 1015 kilometers).