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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. 1 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 2 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″ 3 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. 4 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 5 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) 6 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. 7 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) 8 (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) 9 (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) 10 (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 11 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 12 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. 13 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. 14