Virgo Constellation

Virgo the Maiden is the second-largest constellation in the entire sky, a long, sprawling figure usually depicted holding a sheaf of wheat, and associated across many cultures with harvest, justice, and fertility. Its lone bright star, blue-white Spica, marks the wheat in her hand and is one of the easiest springtime stars to find by following the curve of the Big Dipper's handle. Behind Virgo's quiet, modest appearance to the naked eye lies one of the richest regions in the entire sky for telescopes — it sits in the direction of an enormous cluster containing thousands of galaxies.

Virgo at a Glance

• AbbreviationVir
• Genitive FormVirginis
• MeaningThe Maiden
• Constellation FamilyZodiac
• Area1,294 sq. degrees (2nd largest of 88)
• Right Ascension11h 39m – 14h 20m
• Declination-22.4° to +14.9°
• Brightest StarSpica (magnitude 0.97)
• Best Evening ViewingMay, visible 80°N to 80°S
• Sun's Actual TransitSeptember 16 – October 30 (astrology: August 23 – September 22)

Mythology and History

Virgo has been linked to more than one goddess over the centuries: to the Greeks she was often identified with Demeter, goddess of the harvest, or with her daughter Persephone; to the Romans, with Ceres. A separate and enduring tradition identifies her with Astraea, the goddess of justice and purity, who lived among mortals during a golden age of peace but fled to the heavens in disgust as humanity grew violent and corrupt — becoming, in this telling, the last immortal to abandon Earth. Her connection to the neighboring constellation Libra, the Scales, comes from this myth: Astraea is said to hold the scales of justice in her hand. Virgo was one of the 48 constellations catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD.

Notable Stars in Virgo

Spica, Virgo's brightest star at magnitude 0.97, is actually a close binary of two hot, blue-white stars orbiting each other every four days, located roughly 250 light-years from Earth and shining with a combined luminosity thousands of times that of the Sun. Porrima, a slightly fainter pair of near-identical yellow-white stars, offers one of the finer views for telescope owners as its two components slowly separate over a 169-year mutual orbit.

Deep-Sky Objects

Virgo is an astronomer's paradise for one reason above all: the Virgo Cluster, a vast collection of well over a thousand galaxies roughly 54 million light-years away, near enough to Earth's own galactic neighborhood that it gravitationally influences the Local Group containing the Milky Way. At its center sits M87, a giant elliptical galaxy whose central supermassive black hole became, in 2019, the first black hole ever directly imaged. Farther afield, the Sombrero Galaxy (M104) is prized for its sharp, dust-laned silhouette, visible even in mid-sized amateur telescopes.

• Virgo Cluster — a vast collection of well over 1,000 galaxies roughly 54 million light-years away, the dominant cluster of the larger Virgo Supercluster that includes our own Milky Way's Local Group
• M87 — a giant elliptical galaxy at the heart of the Virgo Cluster, home to a supermassive black hole that became the first black hole ever directly imaged, in 2019
• Sombrero Galaxy (M104) — a striking spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, with a bright central bulge and a dark dust lane that gives it its namesake hat-like silhouette

Neighboring Constellations and How to Find It

Virgo is easiest to find using the mnemonic "follow the arc to Arcturus, then drive a spike to Spica": trace the curve of the Big Dipper's handle to bright orange Arcturus in Boötes, then continue that same curve onward to reach blue-white Spica. It climbs highest around May and, straddling the celestial equator, is visible from almost anywhere on Earth. Virgo borders Boötes, Coma Berenices, Leo, Crater, Corvus, Hydra, Libra, and Serpens Caput.

Virgo is also associated with the Virginids meteor shower, visible to observers who track where these annual displays radiate from.