This week, we track down one of the zodiacal constellations, Virgo, the virgin. It is a prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere’s spring night sky because of its sheer size. Covering an area of 1,294 square degrees, Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky. By comparison, the easily recognisable Orion, the hunter, is a celestial minnow at just 594 square degrees.
The chart shows the view looking south from London at 22.00 BST on 12 May, although the view will remain roughly the same all week.
Situated between Leo, the lion, to the west and Libra, the weighing scales, to the east, Virgo is a fainter constellation. Despite its size, it contains only one bright star, Spica. Charting at 16 in the top 20 brightest stars in the sky, Spica is almost four times the size of the sun and contains more than seven times its mass.
Virgo is associated with a number of ancient myths, including that of Astraea, the goddess of justice and purity. Representing the divine, natural law, she carried the scales of justice (now represented in Libra) in which a person’s life was judged by weighing their rights against their wrongs.
Spanning the celestial equator, Virgo can be easily seen from the southern hemisphere too.
