Download Virgo constellation

Kimberly Latu
Virgo constellation
Physics 1040 @ 10am
Constellation Paper
Virgo constellation straddles the celestial equator, between Leo and Libra. It is the largest
constellation of the zodiac, and the second-largest overall. This constellation depicts a
Greek virgin goddess holding an ear of wheat, which is represented by the constellation’s
brightest star, Spica. Virgo is a congested constellation with 26 know exoplanets orbiting
around 20 stars, and at least a dozen messier objects. Virgo constellation occupies an area
of 1294 square degrees in the night sky. It’s right ascension 13hours Declination 4. And it
is Located in the 3rd quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen between
latitudes 80 and minus 80 degrees. Virgo’s neighboring constellations are Bootes, Coma
Berenieces, Corvus, Libra, Crater, Leo
(wikipedia.org/wiki/virgo_(constellation)#Location)The constellation was first
catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolmey in the second century.
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Because of the Virgo cluster, this constellation is especially rich in galaxies There are 11
Messier objects found in the Virgo constellation. They are as follows. The M49 an
elliptical galaxy, type E2 this galaxy has a large collection of globular clusters estimated
about 5,900.There is strong evidence for a stellar mass black hole through observations
made over a span of a few years. M49 was the first member of the Virgo clusters
discovered. RA12h 29m 46.7s . DEC+08° 00′ 02″. (wikipedia.com) Then we have the
M58 it was discovered in 1779 which is a barred spiral galaxy, type SAB(rs)b; LINER
Sy1.9. M58 has a low luminosity active galactic nucleus, where a starburst may be
present as well as a supermassive black hole. It is also one of the very few galaxies
known to have a UCNR (Ultra-Compact Nuclear Ring). RA12h 37m 43.5s
DEC+11° 49′ 05″. (wikipedia.com) Next we have M59 and M60 which are both elliptical
galaxies and were both discovered by Johann Koehler, 3 days later Messier had them
both cataloged in his notes. RA 12h 43m 39.6s. DEC +11° 33′ 09″ The optical disks of the
galaxies overlap. Recent studies indicate that tidal interactions between M59 and M60
may have just begun. (wikipedia.com) Now we have M61 a barred spiral galaxy,
discovered on May 5 1779. M61 is one of the largest members of Virgo.
RA12h 21m 54.9s . DEC +04° 28′ 25″. Seven supernovae have been observed in this
galaxy making it one of the most active Supernova galaxies known. (wikipedia.com) On
to M84 which is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy. Observations have revealed two jets of
matter shooting out of the galaxy’s center as well as a disk of rapidly rotating gas and
stars telling us there is presence of a supermassive black hole. Two supernovae have also
been observed. RA12h 25m 03.7s DEC +12° 53′ 13″. (wikipedia.com) M86 an elliptical or
lenticular galaxy is next . Of all Messier’s objects, M86 has the highest blue shift. M86
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has a rich system of globular clusters. Its halo has a bunch of stellar streams thought to be
the remains of dwarf galaxies. RA 12h 26m 11.7s DEC +12° 56′ 46″ (wikipedia.com)
Moving onto M89, an elliptical galaxy, that may be perfectly spherical shaped. M89 also
features a surrounding structure of gas and dust, as well as jets of heated particles that
also extend outward. These features tell us that it may have once been an active quasar or
radio galaxy. 12h 35m 39.8s DEC +12° 33′ 23″ (wikipedia.com) Next we have M90, a
spiral galaxy, located about 60 million light years away. It is one of Virgo’s largest and
brightest galaxies. Having a diameter of 165,000 light years. This is one of the galaxies
moving towards us. RA 12h 36m 49.8s DEC+13° 09′ 46″ (wikipedia.com)
Name
RA
DEC
Vis. Mag.
Distance(ly) Spectral
Class
β Virginis
(Zavijava)
11h 50m 41.71824s +1° 45′ 52.9910″
3.604
35.65 ly
F9 V
38.1 ly
F0 V/F0
–01° 26′ 57.7421″ 2.74
F9 V
12h 41m 39.64344s
(3.650/3.560
(Porrima)
V
δ Virginis
+3° 23′ 50.8932″
3.402
198 ly
M3 III
(Vindemiatrix) 13h 02m 10.59785s +10° 57′ 32.9415″
+2.826
109.6 ly
G8 III
+3.376
74.1 ly
A3 V
(Auva)
12h 55m 36.20861s
ε Virginis
ζ Virginis
(Heze)
13h 34m 41.591s
–00° 35′ 44.95″
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η Virginis
(Zaniah)
12h 19m 54.35783s –00° 40′ 00.5095″
3.890
265 ly
A2 V
ι Virginis
(Syrma)
14h 16m 00.9s
−6° 00′ 02″
+4.07
69.8 ly
F6 III
14h 43m 03.6s
−5° 39' 30"
+3.87
60.9 ly
F2III
+13° 46′ 43.6″
+5.00
58.7 ly
G2.5Va
4.652
294 ly
K2 III
μ Virginis
(Rijl al Awwa)
70 Virginis
13h 28m 25.81s
χ Virginis
(Chi Virginis)
SS Virginis
12h 39m 14.76703s –07° 59′ 44.0324″
12h 25m 12s
00° 46′ 00″
9.5 to 7.4
Mira
(wikipedia.com)
There are 35 verified exoplanets orbiting 29 stars in Virgo.
Mythology – In all of constellation mythology, none, well I should say few are as
misunderstood as the Virgo Constellation. I’ve read many stories and they all keep one
thing in common, Virgo (Persephone) the only daughter of Demeter (the harvest
goddess). The story was said that Persephone was kidnapped by the god of the
underworld, Hades. Demeter was so overcome with grief that she neglected her role as
goddess of fruitfulness and fertility. The Earth would not bear fruit again until Demeter
was reunited with her daughter. Zeus (king of gods) had to intervene otherwise all
humanity would be lost. Zeus insisted that Hades returned Persephone to her mother.
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Alas Hades made a deal that Persephone was to return to her mother but only during
harvest (spring) to aid her mother. During these months is when we see Virgo in the
northern hemisphere. The other months of the year Persephone is to return to the
underworld with Hades (winter) during this time is where she’s visible in the Southern
Hemisphere, while she dwells in the underworld. There were different takes of this myth
and I combined pieces of the Greek Myth to form this story. (earthsky.org) (gods-andmonsters.com/virgo-myth.html)
Spica (Alpha Virginis) The name Spica is Latin. Translates to ear. We connect ear to
“ear of wheat”, or “ear of grain”, that Virgo is holding in her left hand, which Spica
represents. Spica is the brightest star in the Virgo constellation and the 16th brightest star
in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.98. (Omegawordpress) Spica’s
position is RA 13h 25min 11.6s, declination -13 degrees 09’ 41”. The easiest ways to
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find Spica, starting from the handle of the big dipper, you can say this phrase, “Follow
the arc (curve of the big dippers’ handle) to Arcturus then speed on to Spica” there you
will see Virgo’s ear of grain, Spica. It looks like one star, but actually is a binary star with
both stars larger and hotter than our sun. Their mutual gravity distorts each star into an
egg shape, with the pointed ends facing each other as they whirl around completing a
single orbit in four days. (earthsky.org). The stars stay so close together that they can not
be seen as two stars through a telescope. We know there are at least two stars because of
observations of the Doppler shift in the absorption lines of the spectra, making them a
double-lined spectroscopic binary. (astropixels.com) The primary star (Spica A) with a
stellar classification of B1 III-IV, is 10x the sun’s mass and 7x the sun’s radius. Spica
puts out 12,100x the lumens as our sun placing it in the luminosity range of a sub giantgiant star type, and is no longer a B-type main sequence star. Spica A is one of the
nearest stars to Earth that is massive enough to end their life in a Type II supernova
explosion. The companion (Spica B) is 7x the sun’s mass and has a radius of 3.6x as
large. Spica B stellar classification is B2-V making this a main sequence star. Spica B is
also one of the few stars whose spectrum is affected by the Struve-Sahade effect.
(mit.edu) This star system is also a massive source of x-rays. Spica is believed to be the
star that gave Hipparchus the data that led him to the precession of the equinoxes.
Nicholas Copernicus also made observations of Spica for his research on precession.
(Wikipedia.org)
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Sombrero Galaxy
Photo (Wikipedia.com)
The Sombrero Galaxy also called M104 or NGC 4594 is one of the most unusual looking
barred spiral galaxies. Located 20 million light years away with a diameter of 50,000
light years. It’s bright nucleus, large central bulge and spiral arms threaded through with
a thick dust lane give the look of the traditional Mexican hat. The dust lane is a ring that
circles the bulge of the galaxy, and it is rich with gas, dust and hydrogen gas. Because it
has all the elements needed for star formation, it’s not surprising that astronomers have
found many sites of stars inside. (space-facts.com)
Along with M104’s core being unusually large and bright, another odd feature is the
dense swarm of globular star clusters orbiting the galaxy. More than 2000 have been
counted. The Sombrero is believed to have a central supermassive black hole at its heart.
X-ray emission from the region suggests some material is still being absorbed by the hole.
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M104 was a late addition to Messier’s catalog of celestial objects in 1781. Several other
astronomers also found it independently. One of these men was William Herschel who
was the first to note the dark dust lanes that are M104’s most distinctive feature. (Rees)
NGC 4261
The elliptical galaxy
lies at the
center of two great
lobes of radio
emission measuring
150,000 light-
years from tip to tip.
Infrared
images pierced the
clouds of stars
to show an
unexpectedly
dense disk of dusty
material, apparently spiraling into the galaxy’s central black hole. Most elliptical galaxies
are supposed to be relatively dust-free and leaves astronomers wondering, “where did the
material come from?” Answers vary as do many theories, but it’s believed to most likely
have merged with a spiral in its relatively recent history. (Rees)
Abell 1689 is one of the biggest and most massive galaxy clusters known. Measuring two
million light years across and hosts over 160,000 globular clusters and over 3,000
galaxies. The gravity of all it’s stars plus the dark matter act as a “cosmic lens”, bending
and magnifying the light from the objects lying behind it producing arcs. It has the largest
gravitational system of arcs ever found. Located 2.2 billion light-years away. RA 13hr
11min 34.2sec, DEC -01 degrees 21’ 56”. (Rees)
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(wikipedia.com)
Virgo Cluster is the closest massive cluster of galaxies! More than 1300 galaxies live in
the Virgo Cluster, including our own local group. It is the central pivot of our super
cluster, (hence the name Virgo Super cluster). The Virgo Cluster contains around 160
major spiral and elliptical galaxies along with more than 2,000 smaller galaxies. RA 12hr
27min. DEC +12 degrees 43’. (Rees)
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(wikipedia.com)
3C 273 is one of the closest quasars to our home. It was the first quasar ever to be
identified. 3C 273 was discovered by Allan Sandage in the early 1960’s. Australian
astronomer Cyril Hazard was the one to use an occultation by the Moon to precisely
establish its position, linking the radio source to what appeared to be an irregular variable
star. We now know that the object is not a star, but a distant active galaxy with a
supermassive black hole in the middle. Of these very bright objects (quasars) 3C 273 is
the brightest in our skies, and also has been observed to fire off super fast jets of electrons
into the surrounding space by energy generated by the black hole. RA 12hr 29min 6.7s.
DEC +02 degrees 03’ 09”. (spacetelescope.org) (Rees)
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(wikipedia.com)
M87 is the closest example of a giant elliptical galaxy, 60 million light-years away, a
class of galaxy often found at the core of old galaxy clusters. This huge ball of stars
seems to have a diameter almost the same size of the Milky Way, but, because its stars
are distributed across its spherical structure, it has many, many more stars. Longexposure photos have shown the galaxy has an extensive halo of more loosely scattered
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stars, extending well beyond the central region in a more elongated shape. The galaxy
also has an unrivaled collection of globular star clusters in orbit. (Rees)
(wikipedia.com)
M87’s most fascinating feature is its jet, which is visible in optical light, x-rays and radio
emissions. The jet extends from the central supermassive black hole of the galaxy and
reaches out a few thousand light-years. (space-facts.com) Charles Messier was the first to
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make note of this in 1791, RA 12 h 30m 49.42338s DEC +12 degrees 23’ 28.0430
“ (wikipedia.com)
I chose this constellation because I am a Virgo so I thought it would be cool to learn.
When I started the project I was thinking really, I chose one of the biggest constellations
out there. But it’s been great to understand what’s out there and to know that I can see a
lot of the galaxies and stars with just a regular telescope, even with really good binoculars,
(well some of them). The Virgo constellation was so huge that there is so much more
information on everything! I pretty much just touched the base of what each object entails.
I will continue to learn more about other constellations because it is something I enjoy
and I love to observe things in the sky. Now knowing specifics that are there, looking for
it is as fun as it is rewarding when it’s found.
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References
astropixels.com. n.d.
earthsky.org. n.d.
gods-and-monsters.com/virgo-myth.html. n.d.
mit.edu. n.d.
Omegawordpress. constellation-guide.com. 2015. November 2015.
Rees, Martin. Universe. New York: DK Publishing, Inc, 2005.
space-facts.com. n.d.
spacetelescope.org. n.d.
wikipedia.com. n.d.
wikipedia.org/wiki/virgo_(constellation)#Location. n.d.
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