Virgo is one of the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

s of the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

. The name is for maiden in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and its traditional astrological symbol is . Between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, lying in the south, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. The

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of Earth's orbit, Earth around the Sun. It was a central concept in a number of ancient sciences, providing the framework for key measurements in astronomy, astrology and calendar-making. Fr ...

intersects the

celestial equator The celestial equator is the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth. By extension, it is also a plane of reference in the equatorial coordinate system. Due to Earth's axial tilt, the celestial ...

within this constellation and Pisces. Underlying these technical two definitions, the sun passes directly overhead of the equator, within this constellation, at the

September equinox The September equinox (or southward equinox) is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox may occur from ...

. Virgo can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica, (in Latin "grain headed").

Location

Virgo is prominent in the spring sky in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, 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 the Southern Hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +80° and -80°. The bright star Spica makes it easy to locate Virgo, as it can be found by following the curve of the Big Dipper/Plough to

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is a red giant star in the Northern celestial hemisphere, northern constellation of Boötes, and the brightest star in the constellation. It ha ...

Boötes Boötes ( ) is a constellation in the northern sky, located between 0° and +60° declination, and 13 and 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere. The name comes from , which comes from 'herder, herdsman' or 'plowman' (literally, 'o ...

and continuing from there in the same curve ("follow the arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica"). Due to the effects of

precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In o ...

, the autumn equinox point lies within the boundaries of Virgo very close to β Virginis. This is one of the two points in the sky where the

crosses the

(the other being the vernal equinox point in the constellation of Pisces). 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 of Leo around the year 2440.

Features

Stars

Besides Spica, other bright stars in Virgo include β Virginis (Zavijava), γ Virginis (Porrima), δ Virginis (Auva) and ε Virginis (Vindemiatrix). Other fainter stars that were also given names are ζ Virginis (Heze), η Virginis (Zaniah), ι Virginis (Syrma), κ Virginis (Kang), λ Virginis (Khambalia) and φ Virginis (Elgafar). 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 and Theta Virginis, they form a Y shape. The star 70 Virginis has one of the first known extrasolar planetary systems with one confirmed planet 7.5 times the mass of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. The star Chi Virginis has one of the most massive planets ever detected, with a mass of 11.1 times that of Jupiter. The sun-like star 61 Virginis has three known planets: one is a super-Earth and two are

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

-mass planets. 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.

Exoplanets

There are 35 verified exoplanets orbiting 29 stars in Virgo, including PSR B1257+12 (three planets), 70 Virginis (one planet), Chi Virginis (one planet), 61 Virginis (three planets), NY Virginis (two planets), and 59 Virginis (one planet).

Deep-sky objects

Because of the presence of a galaxy cluster (consequently called the Virgo Cluster) within its borders 5° to 12° west of ε Vir (Vindemiatrix), this constellation is especially rich in galaxies. Some examples are Messier 49 ( elliptical),

Messier 58 Messier 58 (also known as ''M58'' and ''NGC 4579'') is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy with a weak inner ring structure located within the constellation Virgo (constellation), Virgo, approximately 68 million light-years away from Earth. It ...

(

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

), Messier 59 (elliptical), Messier 60 (elliptical), Messier 61 (spiral), Messier 84 ( lenticular), Messier 86 (lenticular),

Messier 87 Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a Type-cD galaxy, supergiant elliptical galaxy, elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo (constellation), Virgo that contains several trillion s ...

(elliptical and a famous radio source), Messier 89 (elliptical) and Messier 90 (spiral). A noted galaxy that is not part of the cluster is the Sombrero Galaxy (M104), an unusual spiral galaxy. It is located about 10° due west of Spica. NGC 4639 is a face-on

barred spiral galaxy A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. Bars are found in about two thirds of all spiral galaxies in the local universe, and generally affect both the motions of stars and interstellar gas ...

located from Earth (redshift 0.0034). Its outer arms have a high number of

Cepheid variable A Cepheid variable () is a type of variable star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature. It changes in brightness, with a well-defined stable period (typically 1–100 days) and amplitude. Cepheids are important cosmi ...

s, which are used as standard candles to determine astronomical distances. Because of this, astronomers used several Cepheid variables in NGC 4639 to calibrate

type Ia supernova A Type Ia supernova (read: "type one-A") is a type of supernova that occurs in binary systems (two stars orbiting one another) in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. The other star can be anything from a giant star to an even smaller white ...

e as standard candles for more distant galaxies. Virgo possesses several galaxy clusters, one of which is HCG 62. A Hickson Compact Group, HCG 62 is at a distance of from Earth (

redshift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and e ...

0.0137) and possesses a large central elliptical galaxy. It has a heterogeneous halo of extremely hot gas, posited to be due to the

active galactic nucleus An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such e ...

at the core of the central elliptical galaxy. M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and is at a distance of 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 central

supermassive black hole A supermassive black hole (SMBH or sometimes SBH) is the largest type of black hole, with its mass being on the order of hundreds of thousands, or millions to billions, of times the mass of the Sun (). Black holes are a class of astronomical ...

. 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. On April 10, 2019, astronomers from the

Event Horizon Telescope The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a Astronomical interferometer, telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes. The EHT project combines data from several very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) stations around Earth, wh ...

project released an image of its central black hole; the first direct image of one. 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. M84 is another elliptical radio galaxy in the constellation of Virgo; it is at a distance of (redshift 0.0035) as well. Astronomers have surmised that the speed of the gas clouds orbiting the core (approximately ) indicates the presence of an object with a mass 300 million times that of the sun, which is most likely a

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

. The Sombrero Galaxy, M104, is an edge-on spiral galaxy located 28 million light-years from Earth (redshift 0.0034). It has a bulge at its center made up of older stars that are larger than normal. It is surrounded by large, bright

globular clusters A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars that is bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards its center. It can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars, all orbiting ...

and has a very prominent dust lane made up of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. NGC 4438 is a peculiar galaxy with an

, at a distance of from Earth (redshift 0.0035). Its supermassive black hole is ejecting jets of matter, creating bubbles with a diameter of up to . NGC 4261 also has a black hole from its center with a mass of 1.2 billion solar masses. It is located at a distance of from Earth (redshift 0.0075), and has an unusually dusty disk with a diameter of . Along with M84 and M87, NGC 4261 has strong emissions in the

radio spectrum The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 3 Hz to 3,000 GHz (3 THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range, called radio waves, are widely used in modern technology, particula ...

. Virgo is also home to the

quasar A quasar ( ) is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

3C 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.

Mythology

In the Babylonian MUL.APIN (c. 10th century BC), part of this constellation was known as "The Furrow", representing the goddess Shala and her ear of grain. One star in this constellation, Spica, retains this tradition as it is

for "ear of grain", one of the major products of the Mesopotamian furrow. For this reason the constellation became associated with fertility. 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. Early

Greek astronomy Ancient Greek astronomy is the astronomy written in the Greek language during classical antiquity. Greek astronomy is understood to include the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek, Hellenistic period, Hellenistic, Roman Empire, Greco-Roman, and Late an ...

associated the Babylonian constellation with their goddess of wheat, agriculture and autumn,

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

. The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres. Alternatively, the constellation was sometimes identified as the virgin goddess ''Iustitia'' or

Astraea In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Astraea (; ), also spelled Astrea or Astria, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity, and precision. She is closely associated with the Greek goddess of ...

, holding the scales of justice in her hand (that now are separated as the constellation Libra). Another Greek myth from later, Classical times, identifies Virgo as Erigone, the daughter of Icarius of Athens. Icarius, who had been favored by

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

and was killed by his shepherds while they were intoxicated after which Erigone hanged herself in grief; in versions of this myth, Dionysus is said to have placed the father and daughter in the stars as

and Virgo respectively. Another figure who is associated with the constellation Virgo was the spring goddess

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who had married

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

and resided in the Underworld. In the '' Poeticon Astronomicon'' by Hyginus (1st century BC), ''Parthenos'' () is the daughter of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and Chrysothemis, who died a maiden and was placed among the stars as the constellation.

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

has an alternative account, according to which Parthenos was the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister of Rhoeo and Molpadia ( Hemithea). After a suicide attempt she and Hemithea were carried by

Chersonesus Chersonesus, contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson (), was an Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlers from He ...

, where she became a local goddess.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

also mentions a goddess named ''Parthenos'' worshipped throughout Chersonesus. During the Middle Ages, Virgo sometimes was associated with the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. 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.

Gallery

File:Hubble Captures a Captivating Spiral - Flickr - NASA Hubble.jpg, The spiral galaxy NGC 5037 File:Messier 87 Hubble WikiSky.jpg, The elliptical galaxy

File:Seeing Quintuple.jpg, "''Seeing Quintuple''" a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. File:Arp248 - HST - Potw2244a.jpg, This image from the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

/ ESA

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

shows two of the galaxies in the galactic triplet Arp 248. File:Webb peers behind bars (potm2305a).jpg,

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

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.

Citations

References

* Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion (2017). ''Stars and Planets Guide'' (5th ed.), William Collins, London. . Princeton University Press, Princeton. .

External links

The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Virgo

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (medieval and early modern images of Virgo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgo (Constellation) Constellations Equatorial constellations Constellations listed by Ptolemy