VIRGO

The most prominent part of Virgo, the Virgin, spreads to the northwest (to the right) of the first magnitude star Spica, the fainter of the two bright bodies at the lower left corner. The brighter is reddish Mars, which moved through Virgo in the summer of 1999. North is up and to the right. To the right of center, a near-vertical line of three stars curves to the right, Vindemiatrix on top, Delta in the middle, Porrima at the bottom. Porrima and the star down and to the right of it point at the autumnal equinox. Well up and to the right of Spica is Heze (Zeta). 78 Vir is the second star up and to the right of Heze, while Tau Vir is up and to the left. Theta lies between Spica and Porrima. Equally down and to the right of Vindemiatrix find Rho Vir closely accompanied up and to the right by 27 Vir, 33 Vir to the left of them. CU Vir is up and to the right of Tau. Sigma lies just above the picture's center, while Iota, Mu, and 109 Vir are off the pictue to the left in eastern Virgo.

Off the picture to the right lies western Virgo and the Autumnal Equinox, where they are seen in context with Leo, Coma Berenices, and Leo Minor. Diadem, the Alpha star of Coma Berenices, is near the upper right corner.

To see a labelled image, push the star:

Go to western and eastern Virgo.

See Virgo from Bode's Uranographia of 1801.

Virgo has two stars with orbiting planets: 61 and 70 Virginis.

Spica is part of the Great Diamond.

By Jim Kaler. Return to STARS.