Coma Berenices is the home of M85, a
lenticular galaxy that is part of the Virgo cluster of galaxies.
It is very similar in appearance and brightness to M84. It was
the site of a supernova in 1960 that reached a magnitude of
11.7. This galaxy is located some 60 million light-years from
Earth and is believed to have a diameter of around 125,000
light-years. It appears to be composed almost entirely of old
yellow stars and is receding from us at about 700 km/sec. As
with M84, this galaxy is a disappointing sight in anything but a
large telescope.
