Constellation, Maiden
Virgo
The maiden of the zodiac, usually Dike, the Greek goddess of justice, holding an ear of wheat marked by the bright star Spica.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Virgo rises at 6:48 AM, is highest at 12:47 PM (47° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 6:42 PM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Virgo. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
The Greeks called her Parthenos, the maiden. She is usually Dike, goddess of justice, daughter of Zeus and Themis, and is drawn with wings and an ear of wheat. In the Greek tale of the ages of mankind, Dike lived among people in the Golden Age, a time of endless spring with no work, crime or war. As each later age grew worse, she warned people and withdrew to the mountains. In the violent Bronze and Iron Ages she left the Earth for good and flew up to the sky. There she sits beside Libra, which some see as her scales of justice.
Other writers linked her with Demeter, goddess of grain, or her daughter Persephone, whose time in the Underworld explains the seasons. Hyginus named her Erigone, daughter of Icarius, who is Boötes. Spica is Latin for ‘ear of grain’, and its Greek name means the same. Vindemiatrix means ‘grape gatherer’, because its dawn rising marked the start of the grape harvest. The September equinox now lies in Virgo.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Virgo
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spica | α Vir | 0.98 | 250 light-years |
| Porrima | γ Vir | 2.74 | 38 light-years |
| Vindemiatrix | ε Vir | 2.85 | 110 light-years |
| Heze | ζ Vir | 3.38 | 74 light-years |
| Minelauva | δ Vir | 3.39 | 198 light-years |
| γ Vir | γ Vir | 3.52 | 39 light-years |
| Zavijava | β Vir | 3.59 | 36 light-years |
| Maenalus | 109 Vir | 3.73 | 135 light-years |
| μ Vir | μ Vir | 3.87 | 60 light-years |
| Zaniah | η Vir | 3.89 | 265 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 1,292 square degrees (2 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Vir |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | Listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150, as Parthenos, the maiden |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 34 |
| Centre (J2000) | 13.3 h, -2° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.