One of the nicest constellations that can be seen on these late summer days is Virgo. It is well known that you can find it if you «follow the arc [of the Big Dipper] to Arcturus and speed on to Spica [so, if you just continue the arc you will find Spica]». This is especially useful, as Spica is the brightest star in Virgo.

Virgo has other interesting stars, such as Porrima or Vindemiatrix, but they are not even close to Spica’s brightness.

Another interesting thing about Virgo is the fact it is home to the spectacular Virgo cluster of galaxies. If a cluster of stars is wonderful, and a galaxy is majestic, just imagine how can be a cluster of galaxies! It is 65 million light-years away… and even so, all those galaxies are in the same supercluster we inhabit (which, by the way, is the Virgo Supercluster, not to be confused with the abovementioned Virgo cluster of galaxies).

Also, you must remember that Virgo is home to 3C 273, which, despite its name (which might suggest more something like a zip code), is a quasar. In fact, it is notorious for at least two reasons: it is the first quasar discovered, and it is the brightest one (at least from this part of the universe). The photo in this entry is of this quasar.

However, if you just count with your naked eyes, you will have to imagine all these things, as 3C 273 has an apparent magnitude of 12.9 and the brightest galaxy in the Virgo cluster is M49, which has a 9.4 magnitude (a norml human can se up to the 6th magnitude).

However, you are lucky, as these days you have both Saturn and Mars in this constellation. Enjoy!