Virgo the Maiden

constellation · zodiac · stars · night sky

A giant star pattern. Virgo is the second-largest constellation in the sky, meaning it takes up a huge amount of space when you look up at night. Its name is Latin for 'maiden,' and people have been studying it for thousands of years.

The spring equinox marker. Something really cool happens twice a year: the sun passes directly overhead of Earth's equator right through Virgo during the September equinox. This marks when day and night are almost exactly the same length.

Brightest star: Spica. You can find Virgo by looking for its brightest star, called Spica, which shines brightly in the night sky. Once you spot Spica, you've found your way to the whole constellation.

Zodiac neighbor position. Virgo sits between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, lying toward the south in the sky. It's one of the 12 zodiac constellations that people have used for thousands of years to mark the seasons.

Sky boundary location. The ecliptic, which is the path the sun appears to take across the sky, crosses an imaginary line called the celestial equator right within Virgo. This makes it one of the most important locations in the night sky for understanding how Earth moves.