‐ Earlier peoples saw distinctive star patterns as mythical figures, and named them accordingly. Usually, the stars in a constellation are chance grouping and are not related. Currently, 88 constellations are listed, now recognized as regions of sky rather than as celestial images. ‐ In the Egyptian culture the stars of Virgo (the virgin) represented Isis, the principal goddess mother. The Babylonians saw the constellation as Inanna, the Queen of the Sky. The two most common identifications of Virgo from the Greeks were with the goddess of the justice, Dice, and with Demeter, goddess of the wheat. ‐ Virgo is near the celestial equator between Leo and Libra. Located almost in an angle of 90º with the Milky Way, the Virgo´s stars are in general tenuous and, for obtaining a better visibility, they need a dark firmament. The central trapezium, formed by Alfa (α), of first magnitude, together with Zeta (ζ), Gamma (γ) and Delta (δ), of third magnitude, is the easiest recognizable part of the constellation. ‐ Alfa (α) Virginis, better known as Spica, meaning “spike”, is the Virgin´s splendid. It is the fifteenth brightest star of the firmament, which has a very closed binary star made of two blue stars of B type separated away by only 15 million kilometers. Their combined brightness is about 2100 times the one of the Sun, and are separated by 220 light years. ‐ Virgo is located far away from the Milky Way´s plane and it doesn´t contain neither nebulas, nor open clusters, but it has an incredible abundance of bright galaxies. The biggest galactic cluster in 100 million light years is settled in the northern part of the Virgin and it contains about 200 galaxies (like M58, M61, M84, M86, M87, M90 and M104) which might be visible with an 8 inches telescope (20 cm), when the firmament is really dark. • Around 6000 stars are visible to the naked eye. These star maps show the main constellations as viewed from the northern and southern hemispheres. As Earth rotates, some stars appear to rise and set in the sky. Depending on the viewer´s latitude, certain constellations may be observable only at certain times of year. The stars around the poles are circumpolar –they never set and are visible year round. ¾ Spica (α Virginis). ¾ Zavijava (β Virginis). ¾ Porrima (γ Virginis). ¾ Auva (δ Virginis). ¾ Vindemiatrix (ε Virginis). ¾ Heze (ζ Virginis). ¾ Zaniah (η Virginis). ¾ Syrma (ι Virginis). ¾ Rijl al Awwa (μ Virginis). Right ascension: 13H. Declination: 0º. Visibility: 74ºN to 74ºS.
Julián López Molina 1º ESO B.