When Zeus fulfilled the old prophecy and overthrew his father, this marked the beginning of the Silver Age, which was not as prosperous. It has a magnitude of 4.74. The Virgo constellation location is in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere, SQ3. zodiacal constellation lying in the southern sky between Leo and Libra, at about 13 hours It is about 53.8 million light-years away. The galaxy is believed to have a supermassive black hole with 565 million solar masses at its core. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.8, and is the third brightest giant elliptical galaxy in the cluster. She was known as the Goddess Ceres, who ruled over agriculture, grain, crops, and fertility. Taking into account the brightest stars and their individual distances, the average distance to the main stars of the Virgo constellation from Earth is 117 light-years. The galaxys spiral arms are pretty featureless and star forming regions appear truncated as a result of interaction with the intracluster medium in the Virgo Cluster. Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team, 2021. Zodiac constellation straddling the celestial equator, This article is about the astronomical constellation. The star is 129 light-years distant from the solar system. In this Virgo constellation myth, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, and fertility. Zeus then decided that Persephone would have to return to the underworld for part of the year. This of course begs the query How did the constellation virgo get its name?. The brightest star in the constellation is Spica, Alpha Virginis, with an apparent magnitude of 0.98. Messier 58, image: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (CC BY-SA 4.0). In May, June and July look towards the southern to western sky at around 10.00pm. When looking at M60 through a telescope, you will usually see it together with its dimmer neighbor, NGC 4647 (26) (27). These spring constellations are best seen in the evening night sky from March to late June within the northern hemisphere. At about 260 light-years away, it is one of the closest large double star systems to our Earth (8). The constellation is represented by the symbol . As a result, Virgo may be one of the more delicate earth signs, who needs a lot of grounding, nourishment, heart and nerve protection, hydration, and relaxation routines to keep in optimal health. Spring constellations become exciting to see as they signify this time of year. Known as Messier 89, this galaxy appears to be perfectly spherical; this is unusual for elliptical galaxies, which tend to be elongated ellipsoids. 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. How did the Virgo get its name [citation needed] A massive planet was discovered in the stars orbit in July 2009. Virgo is usually depicted with angel-like wings, with an ear of wheat in her left hand, marked by the bright star Spica. Betrayal lurked around the corner. Two supernovae were discovered in the galaxy: SN 1969E in 1969 and SN 1994D in 1994. The Virgo (constellation) is the 2nd largest constellation. Virgo is one of the 48 constellations first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. It is a pale yellow star at the left-wing of the Virgin. It lies behind the Virgo Cluster. Two supernovae have been discovered in the galaxy: SN 1957 and SN 1991bg. In the Southern Hemisphere, all constellations appear upside down. In Greek mythology, it represents both the goddess of justice and the goddess of the harvest. Its name is Latin and means the virgin. Then she flew to the mountains, turning her back on humans. What are facts about the constellation Virgo? The galaxy is metal-rich and shows a deficiency of neutral hydrogen in its optical disk, like most galaxies in the cluster. Messier 59, however, bucks this trend somewhat; the galaxy does show signs of star formation, with some newborn stars residing within a disc near the core. Messier 49 is the brightest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster and the first galaxy to be discovered in the cluster. It has a surrounding disk of gas and dust that extends about 150,000 light years from the galaxy and jets of hot particles extending about 100,000 light years outward. Corrections? (32) (33). In the southern hemisphere, in March, Virgo appears at around midnight low on the eastern horizon. 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. The name for this is an ellipsoidal shape (25). The star is believed to be evolving into a subgiant because it is brighter than most stars of its spectral type. 3C 273 is a quasar; an energetic and distant active galactic nucleus, or quasi-stellar radio source. The neighboring Zodiac constellations are Leo and Libra. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is . Its name is Latin, meaning the virgin. The ecliptic intersects the celestial equator within this constellation and Pisces. The early Babylonians referred to part of the Virgo constellation as "The Furrow." Strabo also mentions a goddess named Parthenos worshipped throughout Chersonesus. Dike was the daughter of Zeus and Greek Titaness Themis. The third star is a bit more distant and orbits the inner pair with a period of 13.1 years. It has a visual magnitude of 3.890 and is visible to the unaided eye. The apparently spherical nature of Messier 89 could, however, be a trick of perspective, and be caused by its orientation relative to the Earth. Its radius is 23 times solar and it is 182 times more luminous than the Sun. It is located about a degree and a half from the M87 subgroup. Messier 104 is an unbarred spiral galaxy with a visual magnitude of 8.98. M58 was discovered along with the elliptical galaxies M59 and M60 by Charles Messier in April 1779. On the Virgo star map, Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis, is a binary star. It is represented as a young maiden carrying a sheaf of wheat. Gamma Virginis has a visual magnitude of 2.74 and is approximately 38.1 light years distant. At her hands are two bright stars. In May to August look out a bit earlier at 8.00pm and watch her disappear at about midnight. It has a visual magnitude of 2.826 and is 109.6 light-years distant. It is not until late August or September when Virgo begins her descent under the horizon. It is located about 10 due west of Spica. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. NGC 4639 is a face-on barred spiral galaxy located 78Mly from Earth (redshift 0.0034). The name Spica comes from the Latin word spca virginis which translates as Virgos ear of grain.. In astrology, Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac, considered as governing the period from about August 23 to about September 22. It has an apparent magnitude of 10.5 and is about 62 million light years distant. But, because of this immense pull, it will eventually slow down, change direction and merge into the Virgo Cluster (52). Scientists claim that this body is a giant circumbinary planet orbiting its mother star at a distance of 3.3 astronomical units. Ian has been fascinated with the stars for over 30 years and has logged thousands of hours at the eyepiece. Virgo contains eleven Messier objects: Messier 49 (M49, NGC 4472), Messier 58 (M58, NGC 4579), Messier 59 (M59, NGC 4621), Messier 60 (M60, NGC 4649), Messier 61 (M61, NGC 4303), Messier 84 (M84, NGC 4374), Messier 86 (M86, NGC 4406), Messier 87 (M87, NGC 4486), Messier 89 (M89, NGC 4552), Messier 90 (M90, NGC 4569) and Messier 104 (M104, NGC 4594, Sombrero Galaxy). It comes from the Arabic cawwa, which means barking (dog) (13). The Virgo symbol is the sixth sign of twelve in the Zodiac family and represents people born between August 23 and September 22. In this version of the myth, Icarius is associated with the constellation Botes and the star Procyon in Canis Minor represents Icarius loyal dog Maera. Two supernovae were discovered in the galaxy: SN 1969E in 1969 and SN 1994D in 1994. The Virgo Cluster is part of a larger cluster of galaxies that include Local Group, which in turn includes the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way (22). It is about 77 times more luminous than the Sun. Virgo constellation star chart. It has a visual magnitude of 2.826 and is 109.6 light years distant. Eta Virginis is a triple star system in Virgo. In recent times, the famous astronomer Ptolemy officially named the Virgo constellation. The celebration of Thesmophoria during Pyanepsion marks Persephone's return, which coincided with the start of the rains in October and the planting of the winter wheat crops, which would be harvested in February and the crop replaced with the warm weather wheat that would be harvested in July, after which there were no crops due to the heat that ended with the October rains. In Greek mythology, Dike lived in the Golden Age of mankind. This Virgo symbol meaning indicates that people born under this sign tend to be cheerful, loyal, and passionate. It has a visual magnitude of 5.00 and is 58.7 light-years distant. Why did Virgo get its name? The Virgo Cluster has a property called the Virgo-centric flow. 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). So, what does Virgo mean? The Romans associated it with their goddess Ceres. Many people love to imagine beautiful angel wings on her shoulders, flowing outwards on either side. It has a visual magnitude of 3.890 and it belongs to the spectral class A2 V. Iota Virginis belongs to the spectral class F6 III. In her left hand, she holds a long ear of corn, which reaches up almost to her head. The Golden Age was marked by prosperity and peace, everlasting spring, and humans never knowing old age. Virgo Constellation: Stars, Myth, and Location (2023) This galaxy has two clearly defined spiral arms, and it is estimated to have around 100 billion stars. Virgo is among the 88 constellations that make up the night sky. Constellation Now imagine her head below these stars and her flowing robe falling upwards. Here is a list of the major Virgo stars. Some cultures preferred the word Maiden; to describe the female Goddess. She is located next to Libra, the constellation representing the scales of justice. The Virgo constellation is located in the southern sky and is among the 12 zodiac constellations. This is one of the Virgo constellation stars that lie at the foot of the robe of the Virgo goddess (20) (21).