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Constellation In Focus For May: Virgo

May 1, 2015 Pedro Braganca
Don't let the scale of the diagram above fool you. Representing the goddess of justice, Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky.

Don't let the scale of the diagram above fool you. Representing the goddess of justice, Virgo is the second largest constellation in the sky.

Spica, a first magnitude blue-white star, is easy to spot, shining as it does in a fairly dark part of the sky.

M49 and M60 are elliptical galaxies. Being one of the brightest ellipticals, M49 was the first member of the Virgo-Supercluster to be discovered by Charles Messier. M60 is some 60,000,000 lightyears distant and is as luminous as 60 billion copies of our sun.

Most of the galaxies in Virgo are part of the Virgo-Supercluster. Not so M104. At about 50,000 lightyears, this galaxy's dark dust lane and close to edge-on angle (just 6°) makes it look a little like a sombrero.

M61 is a lovely face-on spiral galaxy while NGC 5746 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that's best observed in small scopes.

Finally, Porrima is a fine doule-star worthy of a peek. On May 19, both the waxing gibbous moon and Jupiter will be right next to Porrima, and Io's shadow will be visible on the surface of Jupiter from dusk until about 21:50 EDT.

The constellation Virgo as seen from mid-northern latitudes in mid-May at 10:00 p.m.

Click Image To Enlarge

This image by Mel Martin shows a galaxy cluster. M86 and M84 (labeled NGC4374 on the image) are two of the brightest galaxies in this rich region called the Virgo Cluster. Both galaxies can be seen in a telescope as hazy patches brightenin…

This image by Mel Martin shows a galaxy cluster. M86 and M84 (labeled NGC4374 on the image) are two of the brightest galaxies in this rich region called the Virgo Cluster. Both galaxies can be seen in a telescope as hazy patches brightening towards their centers. M86 is a lenticular galaxy, which is a cross between a spiral and an elliptical. M86 is moving toward us at the rate of 400 km/s, faster than any other Messier object.

In Starry Night, Astronomical Events Tags observe, constellation, virgo, supercluster, galaxy
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