In the southern hemisphere, in March, Virgo appears at around midnight low on the eastern horizon. The origin of Virgo was documented by many ancient cultures in stories, folklore, and myths over thousands of years. Image: NASA, ESA, CXC, and J. Strader (Michigan State University). Virgo constellation location at latitudes +80 and 80. Image: Judy Schmidt (CC BY 2.0). He recognized that this was a situation that could not go on forever, since humans and animals needed grain to live. Nu Virginis is a red giant belonging to the spectral class M1IIIab. It has a radius of 48 times that of our Sun and is about 468 times more luminous. [3], M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and is at a distance of 60Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0035). It contains a supermassive black hole at its centre. It has a visual magnitude of 10.6. She represents harvests, fertility, grain, and crops. It is one of the nearest massive double stars to the solar system. The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres. With many bright stars at strategic points, the Virgin is a constellation that you can draw with your eye in the sky. It has a magnitude of 4.74. It has a visual magnitude of 10.6. M90 has been classified as an anemic galaxy, a spiral characterized by low contrast between the disk and the galaxys spiral arms. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Greek mythology of Virgo dates back to 3000BC. Virgo is one of the 12 zodiac WebVirgo How did the constellations get their names? The Sombrero Galaxy was discovered by Pierre Mchain in March 1767. Another important star is Porrima, which is close to Earth at only 38.1 light-years away (2) (3). It can be seen without binoculars. M87 can be located by following the line from Epsilon Virginis to the bright star Denebola in the constellation Leo. The star is 129 light-years distant from the solar system. M49 can be found at 4.1 west-southwest of the bright star Epsilon Virginis. The Virgo modality is mutable. It has a mass 1.4 times solar, but with a radius 48 times that of the Sun, it is about 468 times more luminous. The motion of planetary nebulae between Messier 87 and Messier 86 indicates that the two galaxies are moving toward each other. This is one of the two points in the sky where the celestial equator crosses the ecliptic (the other being the first point of Aries, now in the constellation of Pisces). Corrections? In Greek, the word Virgo is , read as Parthnos. Those who know about how the seasons and the hemispheres work, know that when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Summer Hemisphere. The stars name, derived from the Latin vindmitrix, means the grape gatherer or the grape harvestress.. This creates a spectacular show, often known as Falling Stars. Virgo is prominent in the spring sky in the Northern Hemisphere, visible all night in March and April. [19], During the Middle Ages, Virgo sometimes was associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary.[8]. Kleins Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language explains the Virgo etymology. position: -4Distance from Earth: The average distance is 117 light-yearsArea: 1294 sq. All it takes is looking up at the sky and looking for the constellation Virgo. 109 Virginis is a white main sequence dwarf of the spectral type A0V. It is one of the 15 equatorial constellations. In the sky, the Virgin stands between Leo the Lion and Libra the Scales, but there is no mythological connection between them in the Virgo story. Both stars in the Gamma Virginis system are of the spectral type F0V and have similar visual magnitudes, 3.65 and 3.56. Virgo is an ancient constellation that dates back to the age of Greek Mythology around 3000BC. It contains Spica, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Virgo the Virgin in Latin, whose Greek name was Parthenos (Maiden or unmarried female). When she is away, winter comes and life dies. Due to its size, it attracts other galaxies in the neighborhood, drawing them into its space. Virgo is the largest of the Zodiac constellations and the 2nd largest of all the constellations in the sky. It is located about a degree and a half from the M87 subgroup. Exoplanets are planets that revolve around other stars, other than our star, the sun. ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: Detlev Odenthal. The constellation contains many notable bright stars, and the brightest one is Beta Virginis or Spica with a magnitude of 0.98. She slowly moves south towards 1.00am. Virgo does not connect in any direct way to any other Zodiac creature or symbol. The primary star in the system has three visual companions, a K0-type star with a visual magnitude of 9.1 about 173.1 arc seconds away, a 10th magnitude star 221.2 arc seconds away, and a K2-type star with a magnitude of 9.1, located 321.2 arc seconds away. It also belongs to the Virgo Cluster and is one of its larger member galaxies. Its light has taken some 2.5 billion years to reach us. Their apparent magnitude is 10.9. M84 has a visual magnitude of 10.1 and is approximately 60 million light-years away. She abandoned her duties, and there was a scarcity of grain and other agriculture. NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 form a pair of spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. There was a condition Persephone could not eat until her return. This is one of the Virgo constellation stars that lie at the foot of the robe of the Virgo goddess (20) (21). Messier galaxies M84 and M86 are part of Markarians Chain, an amazing stretch of galaxies that lie along a curved line near the heart of the Virgo Cluster. Precession of the equinoxes, or axial precession, is the gradual change in the orientation of Earths axis of rotation. So he got Hades to release Persephone after a few months. Some cultures preferred the word Maiden; to describe the female Goddess. 61 Virginis is almost identical in composition to the Sun and slightly less massive. Eta Virginis is a triple star system in Virgo. [11] The Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope is ideal for beginners who want to grow into experienced stargazers. Virgo constellation is the second-largest constellation in the southern sky. It has a visual magnitude of 11. It lies behind the Virgo Cluster. The main star is a pulsar located 2,300 light-years from the Sun. For amateurs, there is a great choice of well-priced scopes that will give you fabulous images of Virgo in the sky. Spica is Virgos brightest star. Virgo falls into the Second Enclosure, known as the Supreme Palace Enclosure. The constellation is represented by the symbol . Using a telescope, you can see it between the bright stars Vindemiatrix in Virgo and Denebola in Leo. Here's your constellation | Constellations | EarthSky", The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Virgo, Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (medieval and early modern images of Virgo), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virgo_(constellation)&oldid=1150684698, Articles needing the year an event occurred from July 2018, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2018, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 15:06. Porrima, Gamma Virginis, is a binary star. WebIts name is Latin and means the virgin. It also has three clearly identifiable sub-clusters. M87 has a supermassive black hole at its center. The Spring Triangle is an astronomical asterism involving an imaginary triangle drawn upon the celestial sphere. The Virgo constellation offers fabulous meteor showers that will delight home stargazers. The word Virgo is probably related to virga, a young shoot, or twig. When viewing a constellation from Earth, it looks as if all the stars and celestial bodies are on one flat plane. It is surrounded by large, bright globular clusters and has a very prominent dust lane made up of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Virgo occupies 1294.428 square degrees of the night sky or 3.14 % of the total. M58 is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster with an apparent magnitude of 10.5. In Greek mythology, Zeus was responsible for placing many Zodiac figures into the night sky, including Virgo. The constellation Virgo personifies the Greek goddess Persephone, the maiden daughter of Demeter, who was abducted by the god of the underworld until she was allowed to return to her mother in the spring. Modern observations show that Messier 59 is an elliptical galaxy, one of the three main kinds of galaxies along with spirals and irregulars. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and are familiar with the Big Dipper, you can follow a curved line downwards to Arcturus and then to. How many stars are in the constellation Virgo? From there continue to follow that same curvature to locate Spica. NGC 4435 is a barred lenticular galaxy. She was known as the Goddess Ceres, who ruled over agriculture, grain, crops, and fertility. Chi Virginis is another binary star in Virgo. It also contains the autumn equinox point, which lies close to the star Beta Virginis. It has a mass of approximately 100,000 billion that of our sun. The brightest ones were for the most part discovered in the late 18th and early 19th century and could be found in Messiers catalogue, described as nebulae without stars. This galaxy has two clearly defined spiral arms, and it is estimated to have around 100 billion stars. In the case of Virgo, both the constellations Virgo and the Zodiac sign have the same name. The Local Group, a nearby cluster is currently moving away from the Virgo Cluster. When Zeus fulfilled the old prophecy and overthrew his father, this marked the beginning of the Silver Age, which was not as prosperous. The word virgate from Latin Virgo was an old English land measure, used also in the sense of measuring rod, a measure of length (48) (49). Delta Virginis is another interesting star in Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in February 1771. Space may be mostly empty, but a galaxy moving fast enough through it can feel it. It has a visual magnitude of 3.890 and you can see it with the naked eye. In May to August look out a bit earlier at 8.00pm and watch her disappear at about midnight. Omissions? It also contains the autumn equinox point, which lies close to the star Beta Virginis. 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. She is located next to Libra, the constellation representing the scales of justice. The Virgo Cluster is a galaxy cluster found in the constellations Coma Berenices and Virgo. The clusters centre is located approximately 53.8 million light years away from the solar system, at the centre of the Virgo Supercluster, the larger cluster of galaxies that also contains the Local Group, which in turn includes the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. The name for this is an ellipsoidal shape (25). When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, the Virgo constellation cannot be seen in the early evening sky during the colder months and early spring. So, the visibility of Virgo coincides with the beginning of spring. Due to the visibility of the Virgo constellation, it is often related to spring and harvest. Spica is classified as a Beta Cephei type variable star, which is to say a main sequence star that exhibits changes in brightness as a result of pulsations of its surface, and is at its brightest at the point of maximum contraction. The proper names of stars that have been officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are Elgafar, Flegetonte, Heze, Kang, Khambalia, Lich, Malmok, Minelauva, Mnch, Porrima, Spica, Syrma, Vindemiatrix, Zaniah, and Zavijava. Many people love to imagine beautiful angel wings on her shoulders, flowing outwards on either side. Virgo is one of the oldest known constellations and dates back to Greek Mythology where she is associated with Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the Harvest Goddess. The mount ensures that the telescope is perfectly balanced for easy point-and-view use. When hes not observing the sky, he is enjoying time with his two kids, Amelia and Aurora. This is the path that the sun takes as it moves across the sky during the year. It is located about 10 due west of Spica. NGC 4216, image: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (CC BY-SA 3.0 US). This luminous orb is the galaxy NGC 4621, better known as Messier 59. Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes[clarification needed] identified as the virgin goddess Iustitia or Astraea, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as the constellation Libra). M89 is suspected to once have been a radio galaxy or active quasar. Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote. The head of the constellation rises As well as the usual bright bands of stars, the spiral arms of M61 are studded with ruby-red patches of light. Virgo constellation star chart. An extrasolar planet was discovered in the stars orbit in 1996. position: 13hDec. The galaxy is about 60,000 light years across. Whats more, a Virgo is never likely to get on with people who invade their privacy. Spica is classified as a blue giant of the spectral types B1 III-IV and B2 V, approximately 260 light years distant from the solar system. Ian has been fascinated with the stars for over 30 years and has logged thousands of hours at the eyepiece. This triangle connects the constellations of Botes, Virgo, and Leo. Two candidates for stellar mass black holes, ones formed by gravitational collapses of massive stars, were discovered in a M49 cluster in the last decade. The 2 inner stars orbit one another every 72 days. [9], Early Greek astronomy associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat and agriculture, Demeter. Virgo Constellation. Virgo constellation is the second-largest constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin and means the virgin. The constellation contains many notable bright stars, and the brightest one is Beta Virginis or Spica with a magnitude of 0.98. Virgo is first depicted in the 2nd century CE by the famous astronomer Its name is Latin and means the virgin. The galaxy is one of the most massive in our local universe. The head of the constellation rises first with the feet towards the eastern horizon. Zeus then decided that Persephone would have to return to the underworld for part of the year. There are some who think that she did it knowing full well what she was doing that is, she did want to be married to him. The constellations brightest star, Spica, is at the base of the Y. Symbolism: Virgo is also known Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Virgo is one of the 48 constellations first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. She has a full body, unlike some other constellations that are only partly formed. Unlike spiral galaxies, which have a well-defined structure and boast picturesque spiral arms, elliptical galaxies appear fairly smooth and featureless. Copyright 2023 CelestialToday | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. It is an orange-red giant that lies about 198 light-years away. Scientists claim that this body is a giant circumbinary planet orbiting its mother star at a distance of 3.3 astronomical units. Due to the effects of precession, the first point of Libra, (also known as the autumn equinox point) lies within the boundaries of Virgo very close to Virginis. 61 Virginis is the first well established yellow dwarf almost identical to the Sun with a potential Super-Earth in its orbit. The Constellations: Gemini is both a constellation and a sign of the zodiac.

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