Virgo how many stars

It is an ancient constellation. In Roman times she was represented by the goddess Ceres, who was the mother of Prosperina. Her festival was in the second week of April, the same time that the constellation appears in the spring skies.

She was also sometimes identified as the virgin goddess Astraea, holding the scales of justice represented by the constellation Libra. Virgo is usually depicted on charts as a maiden with angelic wings holding two ears of wheat, one of which is marked by the bright star Spica.

Virgo is probably best-known for the bright star Spica. It is the brightest star in the constellation and the 15th brightest star in the night sky. With a visual magnitude of 0. The second brightest star is Porrima with a magnitude of 2. It is a binary star system that lies approximately 38 light years from our solar system.

At magnitude 2. It is a yellow-white giant star that lies about light years away. Virgo is famous for the large cluster of galaxies known as the Virgo Cluster. Stargazers can use the Big Dipper as a guide. Continue the arc to the next bright star, which is Spica. There's even a mnemonic phrase to help you remember: " Follow the arc to Arcturus, then speed on to Spica. Tied to fertility and agriculture, Virgo appears to stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere during the spring and summer months and to those in the Southern Hemisphere in autumn and winter.

Spica , also known as Alpha Virginis, is the brightest star in the constellation. Spica ranks as the 16th brightest star in the night sky and can be regarded as a nearly perfect example of a star of the first magnitude. It is a blue giant about light-years from Earth. Do you know which national flag includes the brightest star from the Virgo constellation? You will soon….

Virgo is Latin for Virgin, which helps to explain some of the mythological stories connected to Virgo. More ancient peoples also connected the constellation to women and goddesses.

Many of these figures held agricultural symbolism. These were both goddesses of crops and wheat. There are even more mythological figures that have been tied with Virgo, including Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the aforementioned Demeter. But the arguably more interesting myth is that of Erigone. She was the daughter of Iacrius of Athens, who was murdered, which then led to Erigone killing herself. When you join the stars of the Virgo constellation, are you going to be blown away with a detailed image of one of these goddesses?

The answer is — not exactly. You can see what you are more likely to see with the naked eye in the image below. Virgo includes some bright stars and many bright galaxies. The brightest star in the Virgo constellation is called Spica.

It is the 15th brightest star in the sky, yet, it is not much fainter than many of the stars deemed brighter than it, such as Fomalhaut and Altair. Here are some more cool facts about Spica:. Virgo is one of the Zodiac constellations. The zodiac is the area of the sky where our Sun and Moon pass.