![](\"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Placed_among_the_stars_card_full.jpg\")
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This smattering of celestial sequins is a spiral galaxy named NGC 4455, located in the northern constellation of\u00a0Coma Berenices (Berenice\u2019s Hair). This might sound like an odd name for a constellation \u2014 and in fact it is somewhat unusual; it\u2019s the only modern constellation to be named in honour of a real person from history:\u00a0Queen Berenice II of Egypt.<\/p>\n
The story of Queen Berenice II is an interesting one. A ruling queen of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, and later a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt through her marriage to her cousin Ptolemy III Euergetes, Berenice became known for sacrificing locks of her hair as an\u00a0offering\u00a0to ensure her husband\u2019s safe return from battle. Her husband did indeed return safely and her hair, which she had left in a\u00a0Zephyrium temple, had disappeared \u2014 it had apparently been stolen and placed among the stars.<\/p>\n
Should it be located in NGC 4455, it travelled a long way. The galaxy is about 45 million light-years away. This image was taken by the\u00a0NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope\u2019s\u00a0Advanced Camera for Surveys.<\/p>\n