- NGC 4697 (Wikipedia)
NGC 4697 (also known as Caldwell 52) is an elliptical galaxy some 40 to 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the NGC 4697 Group, a group of galaxies also containing NGC 4731 and several generally much smaller galaxies. This group is about 55 million light-years away; it is one of the many Virgo II Groups, which form a southern extension of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies.
- Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for maiden, and its old astronomical symbol is Virgo symbol (♍︎). Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. The ecliptic intersects the celestial equator within this constellation and Pisces. Underlying these technical two definitions, the sun passes directly overhead of the equator, within this constellation, at the September equinox. Virgo can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica.
passage through the ecliptic
- Libra (constellation) (Wikipedia)
Libra /ˈliːbrə/ is a constellation of the zodiac and is located in the Southern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for weighing scales. Its old astronomical symbol is Libra symbol (♎︎). It is fairly faint, with no first magnitude stars, and lies between Virgo to the west and Scorpius to the east. Beta Librae, also known as Zubeneschamali, is the brightest star in the constellation. Three star systems are known to have planets.
- Spica (Wikipedia)
Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analysis of its parallax shows that it is located 250±10 light-years from the Sun. It is a spectroscopic binary star and rotating ellipsoidal variable; a system whose two stars are so close together they are egg-shaped rather than spherical, and can only be separated by their spectra. The primary is a blue giant and a variable star of the Beta Cephei type.
- Iota Virginis (Wikipedia)
Iota Virginis (ι Virginis, abbreviated Iota Vir, ι Vir) is a binary star in the constellation of Virgo. Its apparent magnitude is 4.08. Based on its parallax, it is assumed to be relatively nearby, at 71.8 light-years (22.0 parsecs).
- Epsilon Virginis (Wikipedia)
Epsilon Virginis (ε Virginis, abbreviated Epsilon Vir, ε Vir), formally named Vindemiatrix /vɪndiːmiˈeɪtrɪks/, is a star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.8, making it the third-brightest member of Virgo. Based upon parallax measurements made by the Gaia spapecraft, Vindemiatrix lies at a distance of about 108 light-years (33 parsecs) from the Sun, give or take 0.7 light-years.
