17 Comae Berenicis is a fine binary with subtle colour contrast -- white and soft blue -- 5.3 and 6.6 magnitudes.

The position angle of the component is 251º, the separation a very wide 145".

The star is in the same field of view as gamma Com: binoculars.

In the same field is 12 Com, the brightest star in the Coma Star Cluster and also a binary: magnitudes 5 and 8, PA 167º and separation 66".