An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Berenice’s Hair. A → constellation made up of many faint stars and located near the north Galactic pole between → Canes Venatici to the north, → Virgo to the south, → Leo to the west, and → Boötes to the east. Abbreviation: Com; genitive: Comae Berenices.

See also: → coma; L. Berenices genitive of Berenice,
a queen of Egypt, wife of Ptolemy III, who sacrificed her hair to Aphrodite, begging her husband’s victory in the war with the Assyrians, who had killed his sister. While the story is an old one, the constellation is relatively new, being introduced by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601).