Visible at latitudes between +80° and −80°. Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month ofMay.
Virgo is one of theconstellations of thezodiac. Its name isLatin formaiden, and its old astronomical symbol is. BetweenLeo to the west andLibra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (afterHydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. Theecliptic intersects thecelestial equator within this constellation andPisces. Underlying these technical two definitions, the sun passes directly overhead of the equator, within this constellation, at theSeptember equinox. Virgo can be easily found through its brightest star,Spica.
Virgo is prominent in the spring sky in theNorthern Hemisphere, visible all night in March and April. As the largest zodiac constellation, the Sun takes 44 days to pass through it, longer than any other. From 1990 and until 2062, this will take place from September 16 to October 30. It is located in the third quadrant of theSouthern Hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +80° and -80°.
The bright starSpica makes it easy to locate Virgo, as it can be found by following the curve of theBig Dipper/Plough toArcturus inBoötes and continuing from there in the same curve ("follow the arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica").[1]
Due to the effects ofprecession, the autumn equinox point lies within the boundaries of Virgo very close toβ Virginis. This is one of the two points in the sky where thecelestial equator crosses theecliptic (the other being the vernal equinox point in the constellation ofPisces). From the 18th century to the 4th century BC, the Sun was in Libra on the autumnal equinox, shifting into Virgo thereafter. This point will pass into the neighboring constellation ofLeo around the year 2440.
The 7 main stars of Virgo form 2 distinct star patterns: Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Eta Virginis; form an asterism known as "The Bowl of Virgo". Together with Spica andTheta Virginis, they form a Y shape.
SS Virginis is a variable star with a noticeable red color. It varies in magnitude from a minimum of 9.6 to a maximum of 6.0 over approximately one year.[2]
Because of the presence of agalaxy cluster (consequently called theVirgo Cluster) within its borders 5° to 12° west of ε Vir (Vindemiatrix), this constellation is especially rich ingalaxies.
NGC 4639 is a face-onbarred spiral galaxy located78 Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0034). Its outer arms have a high number ofCepheid variables, which are used asstandard candles to determine astronomical distances. Because of this, astronomers used several Cepheid variables in NGC 4639 to calibratetype Ia supernovae as standard candles for more distant galaxies.[3]
Virgo possesses several galaxy clusters, one of which isHCG 62. AHickson Compact Group, HCG 62 is at a distance of200 Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0137) and possesses a large central elliptical galaxy. It has a heterogeneous halo of extremely hot gas, posited to be due to theactive galactic nucleus at the core of the central elliptical galaxy.[3]
M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and is at a distance of60 Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0035). It is a major radio source, partially due to its jet of electrons being flung out of the galaxy by its centralsupermassive black hole. Because this jet is visible in several different wavelengths, it is of interest to astronomers who wish to observe black holes in a unique galaxy.[3] On April 10, 2019, astronomers from theEvent Horizon Telescope project released an image of its central black hole; the first direct image of one.[4][5][6] With a mass of at least 7.2 billion times that of the Sun, it is the most massive black hole within the immediate vicinity of the Milky Way.[7]
M84 is another ellipticalradio galaxy in the constellation of Virgo; it is at a distance of60 Mly (redshift 0.0035) as well. Astronomers have surmised that the speed of the gas clouds orbiting the core (approximately400 km/s) indicates the presence of an object with a mass 300 million times that of the sun, which is most likely ablack hole.[3]
TheSombrero Galaxy, M104, is an edge-on spiral galaxy located 28 million light-years from Earth (redshift 0.0034). It has abulge at its center made up of older stars that are larger than normal. It is surrounded by large, brightglobular clusters and has a very prominentdust lane made up ofpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.[3]
NGC 4438 is apeculiar galaxy with anactive galactic nucleus, at a distance of50 Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0035). Its supermassive black hole is ejectingjets of matter, creating bubbles with a diameter of up to78 ly.[3]
NGC 4261 also has a black hole20 ly from its center with a mass of 1.2 billion solar masses. It is located at a distance of45 Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0075), and has an unusually dusty disk with a diameter of300 ly. Along with M84 and M87, NGC 4261 has strong emissions in theradio spectrum.[3]
Virgo is also home to thequasar3C 273 which was the first quasar ever to be identified. With a magnitude of ~12.9, it is also the optically brightest quasar in the sky.
Virgo as depicted inUrania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825Depiction of Virgo, c.1000
In theBabylonianMUL.APIN (c. 10th century BC), part of this constellation was known as "The Furrow", representing the goddessShala and her ear of grain. One star in this constellation,Spica, retains this tradition as it isLatin for "ear of grain", one of the major products of the Mesopotamian furrow. For this reason the constellation became associated with fertility.[8]The constellation of Virgo in Hipparchus corresponds to two Babylonian constellations: the "Furrow" in the eastern sector of Virgo and the "Frond of Erua" in the western sector. The Frond of Erua was depicted as a goddess holding a palm-frond – a motif that still occasionally appears in much later depictions of Virgo.[9]
EarlyGreek astronomy associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat, agriculture and autumn,Demeter.[citation needed]The Romans associated it with their goddessCeres.[citation needed]Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes[clarification needed] identified as thevirgin goddessIustitia orAstraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as theconstellation Libra).[10]Another Greek myth from later, Classical times, identifies Virgo asErigone, the daughter ofIcarius of Athens.[11]Icarius, who had been favored byDionysus and was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated after which Erigone hanged herself in grief;in versions[clarification needed] of this myth, Dionysus is said to have placed the father and daughter in the stars asBoötes and Virgo respectively. Another figure who is associated with the constellation Virgo was the spring goddessPersephone,[12][13][14][15] the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who had marriedHades and resided in the Underworld.
In thePoeticon Astronomicon byHyginus (1st century BC),Parthenos (Παρθένος) is the daughter ofApollo andChrysothemis, who died a maiden and was placed among the stars as the constellation.[16]Diodorus Siculus has an alternative account, according to which Parthenos was the daughter ofStaphylus andChrysothemis, sister ofRhoeo and Molpadia (Hemithea). After a suicide attempt she and Hemithea were carried byApollo toChersonesus, where she became a local goddess.[17]Strabo also mentions a goddess namedParthenos worshipped throughout Chersonesus.[18]
In Greek mythology, the constellation is also associated with the daughter of Zeus,Dike the goddess of justice, who is represented holding the scales of justice.
James Webb Space Telescope peers behind the bars to image the bright tendrils of gas and stars of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068. The galaxy lies around 17 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.[21]
^abcdefgWilkins, Jamie; Dunn, Robert (2006).300 Astronomical Objects: A Visual Reference to the Universe (1st ed.). Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books.ISBN978-1-55407-175-3.
Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2017).Stars and Planets Guide (5th ed.), William Collins, London.ISBN978-0-008-23927-5. Princeton University Press, Princeton.ISBN978-0-691-17788-5.
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![The spiral galaxy NGC 5037[19]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHubble_Captures_a_Captivating_Spiral_-_Flickr_-_NASA_Hubble.jpg)
![This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows two of the galaxies in the galactic triplet Arp 248. [20]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArp248_-_HST_-_Potw2244a.jpg)
![James Webb Space Telescope peers behind the bars to image the bright tendrils of gas and stars of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068. The galaxy lies around 17 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.[21]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWebb_peers_behind_bars_(potm2305a).jpg)
