The name Draco has been linked to several dragons in Greek mythology. Greek mythology. One version is that Cadmus killed the dragon Draco in his quest to find his sister, Europa, who had been taken to Crete by Zeus. In another account, the Athenian goddess Minerva grabbed Draco by the tail and placed him in the sky during the battle for Mount Olympus. Draco has also been identified in early Christianity as the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.The constellation Virgo, one of the oldest star patterns in the sky, is located near the constellation Boötes and next to the constellation Leo. To the naked eye, Virgo looks like a twisted box turned on its side with lines of stars extending from it.
Virgo does not contain many deep-sky objects visible through binoculars or with the naked eye. However, there is a massive cluster of galaxies within Virgo’s boundaries that amateurs with good telescopes can explore. In fact, although it may not seem like much at first glance, the Virgo constellation is a hidden treasure trove for astronomical discovery.
How to find the Virgo Constellation
To find Virgo in the evening sky, first locate the Big Dipper in the northern part of the sky. Using the curve of the handle, imagine a curved line, or arc, drawn from the end of the dipper to the bright star Arcturus (in other words, “arc to Arcturus”). Then extend that line to “drive a nail” through Spica, the brightest star in Virgo.
Once you’ve spotted Spica, you’ll be able to see the rest of the constellation. Virgo is easily visible from anywhere in the world. In the northern hemisphere, Virgo is most visible in the night sky from mid-March to late June. In the southern hemisphere, it can be seen in autumn and winter.
The History of the Virgo Constellation
Virgo has been associated with fertility and the planting season since ancient times. The early Babylonians referred to part of the Virgo constellation as “The Furrow.” The bright star Spica gets its name from the Latin term for “ear of corn.”
Most cultures have interpreted the shape of Virgo as a female figure. During the Middle Ages, the church associated it with the Virgin Mary. The Romans saw their goddess Ceres in the shape of Virgo, and the Babylonians associated the figure with their goddess Astarte.
Main Stars of the Virgo Constellation
Zavijah
Also known as Beta Virginis, Zavijah is a yellow-white main sequence star about 35 light-years from Earth. It has about 25% more mass than the Sun and is almost 70% larger in radius.
Zaniah
Also known as Eta Virginis, Zaniah is a triple star system about 265 light-years from Earth. The primary star has a mass 2.5 times greater than the Sun with surface temperatures more than 50% higher.
Porrima
Also known as Alpha Virginis, Porrima appears as a single star in the night sky, but is actually a binary system 38 light-years from Earth. Together, the two stars produce an apparent magnitude of 2.74, making Porrima the second brightest star in the constellation.
Auva
Also known as Delta Virginis, Auva is a red giant about 200 light-years from Earth. It has 50% more mass than the sun but is almost 50 times larger in diameter.
Vindemiatrix
Also known as Epsilon Virginis, Vindemiatrix is a yellow giant about 110 light-years from Earth, with two and a half times the mass of the Sun and 10 times its radius.
Heze
Also known as Zeta Virginis, Heze is a binary star system consisting of a blue-white main sequence star and a red dwarf companion. The primary blue-white star has twice the mass and twice the radius of the Sun, and the system is about 75 light-years from Earth.
Spica
Also known as Alpha Virginis, Spica is by far the brightest star in the constellation and one of the brightest in the entire night sky. Spica is actually a binary star system about 260 light-years from Earth consisting of two fairly massive stars.
The primary star has 10 times the mass of the sun, which is massive enough to generate a supernova at the end of its life. This star is a blue giant with about 7.5 times the radius of the sun and is 12,000 times more luminous. The secondary star is a blue main sequence star with about 7 times the mass of the sun.
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The brightest stars in the Virgo constellation
The Virgo constellation has nine main stars. Star charts often show them with a Greek letter next to each star. Alpha (α) denotes the brightest star, beta (β) the second brightest star, and so on.
The brightest star in Virgo is Spica. It is a binary star, meaning that there are two stars in a close orbital dance with each other. Spica is about 250 light-years away from us, and its two stars orbit a common center of gravity approximately every four days.
Spica lies very close to the orbital path followed by Earth, the Sun, and the planets of our solar system. This path is known as the ecliptic. As a result, Spica is occasionally hidden by the Moon. That means that the Moon passes between Earth and Spica for a few hours, essentially covering Spica for a brief period. Planets can also hide Spica, although this happens less frequently than lunar occultations.
Other stars are γ Virginis (also known as Porrima) and ε Virginis, also called Vindemiatrix. Other stars in the larger region covered by Virgo offer some interesting objects. 70 Virginis has at least one known planet, a super-Jupiter, and the star χ Virginis boasts a hugely massive exoplanet. 61 Virginis has a multiple planet system.
Deep sky objects in the Virgo constellation
Virgo is full of galaxies that observers will need a telescope to see, including the Sombrero Galaxy. Also present is the Virgo Cluster, a huge collection of galaxies that includes the Local Group, which contains our own Milky Way. The core of the cluster lies along the northern border of the constellation.
The largest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster is called M87. M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy located approximately 60 million light-years away. It has a gigantic jet of material streaming from its center that can be detected with smaller telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit (among others) has been used to focus on this jet, which is probably flowing from a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy.
Another exciting object in the heart of the Virgo Cluster is the Markarian Chain. Seen from Earth, the Markarian Chain is a curved “V” of galaxies in two separate lines. It is best seen through a telescope focused on the center of the cluster. Once you have seen this chain, you can explore a variety of galaxies of different shapes and sizes.
Mythology of Virgo
As with many constellations, the mythology of Virgo is complex, with many different variations on its origins. One rather morbid story involves the young female character Erigone from Greek mythology. Her father was Icarius, a farmer and friend of the god Dionysus. One day Dionysus offered wine to Aquarius and his shepherds to honor their friendship. Unfortunately, his shepherds had never drunk alcohol before and mistakenly thought they had been poisoned, so they took revenge by killing Aquarius in a drunken rage.
Erigone later found her father’s body and, unable to control her grief, buried him and hanged herself beside his grave. Dionysus was so angry at the crime that he inflicted a terrible plague on the city of Athens that caused young unmarried women to commit suicide. The plague was finally lifted after the city honored both Icarius and his daughter. As a result, Dionysus placed Erigone among the stars as Virgo and her father as the neighboring constellation Bootes.
