Virgo has a total area of 1,294 square degrees. The majority of the stars in the constellation are dull, but Spica, Virgo's dazzling blue-white star, is reasonably simple to find. The Big Dipper can be used as a guide for stargazers. Follow the handle's curvature to the southeast until you reach the brilliant star Arcturus in the Bootes constellation. Below Arcturus is another very bright star, Vega, which lies in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Virgo is one of the constellations from the Southern Hemisphere that isn't visible from much of South America or Africa. However, it does appear on the western edge of the night sky over India.
Virgo is part of a trio of constellations located along the border between the southern and eastern hemispheres. They form a rough triangle with their centers at a distance of about 25 degrees north of Alpha Centauri, the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus. The three constellations are called the "Kangaroos" by astronomers because of their shape.
There are four stars in Virgo worthy of note. Spica is the brightest star in the constellation and can be seen with the naked eye during daylight hours. It is a blue-white supergiant some 26 light years away from Earth. A light year is the distance that light travels in one year: 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km). Spica has a surface temperature of about 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,200 degrees Celsius).
Finding Virgo Virgo has a total area of 1,294 square degrees. Virgo, the sign of fertility and agriculture, emerges in the Northern Hemisphere during the spring and summer months and in the Southern Hemisphere during the autumn and winter months. It is located between 30°N and 20°S latitudes.
Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was named after the Virgin Mary because medieval Christians believed that she appeared to St. Bernard on this date in 1235. Modern astronomers believe that Virgo probably wasn't the original name for this constellation but instead took on that name many years later. In fact, early maps show signs of activity in other parts of the sky besides just Virgo. They also show a constellation called Mammon (which is now part of Libra) between Virgo and Leo. This suggests that these two regions were not named at first in order of appearance but instead had names given to them by earlier observers.
Virgo has four stars that are visible with the naked eye. These are Virgo Centauri, the center of the galaxy; Virgo A, a large elliptical galaxy; Virgo B, a small spiral galaxy; and Messier 53, a giant elliptical galaxy. M53 is a distant member of the Virgo Cluster that contains hundreds of galaxies all within a distance of 100 million light-years from our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Virgo is the second biggest constellation in the sky, encompassing 1294 square degrees of space. It may be viewed at latitudes ranging from +80 deg to -80 deg in the southern hemisphere's third quarter (SQ3).
Virgo is well known for its galaxies, such as M81, M82, and NGC 3031. But did you know that Virgo is also home to the closest black hole to our own, located in M87? Or that it contains a large number of star clusters, some very young and massive, others older and less luminous? There are even several dwarf galaxies found within Virgo's territory.
Virgo is a great place to view the night sky because of its lack of light pollution. The constellation is visible all year round, except during the winter months when it disappears below the horizon. But if you live somewhere where it gets dark early, don't worry, there are many other places in the world where you can see the stars shine bright.
Virgo is said to be ruled by the Virgin Mary. However, this claim is based on an ancient text called "The Astronomica" which references a star named Virgo Indigena. This name means "virgin native woman" and it is probably derived from one of the indigenous tribes living in Europe before the Roman invasion.
Virgo is regarded as the "spring constellation" because, while its stars may be seen on most nights of the year, they shine brightest in the evening sky during spring. Although Spica is the lone brilliant star in Virgo, it is the 16th brightest star in the night sky. The constellation can be found just before midnight in the west, with a broad band of stars stretching across the heavens from north to south.
Virgo was one of the 12 constellations used by ancient Greeks to map out the universe. It is named after the Virgin Goddess, who in addition to being the mother of humanity also represented fertility and nature. Virgo has been around since at least 400 AD and probably existed long before that. It remains a prominent constellation today even though many of the stars within it are not visible in the Northern Hemisphere due to darkness of nightfall.
In Latin, Virgo is known as "Mae Venus" which means "the Maiden". This makes sense because there is only one star that is truly visible to the naked eye in Virgo, and it's name is Spica which means "the Weaver". Spica is a binary system made up of two identical stars that circle each other every 80 years or so.
The constellation itself is shaped like a woman sitting with her legs spread wide open. The stars that make up Virgo lie near the center of this figure, with the earth located between her legs.