When and Where to See Virgo This Spring
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Virgo is well placed for observation during northern spring months, sitting on the ecliptic between the brighter Leo to the west and the equally faint Libra to the east.
- The viewing chart shows the constellation due south from London at 2300 BST on Monday, with essentially the same view all week.
- Ptolemy's original second-century catalogue listed Virgo among 48 constellations, though the concept stretches back to Babylonian astronomy in the 10th century BCE.
- The Babylonians knew the constellation as the goddess Shala, while the Greeks identified her as Demeter, goddess of agriculture — in both traditions Virgo is associated with the harvest and wheat.
- The constellation's brightest star, Spica, is said to represent an ear of wheat held in the maiden's hand.
- Virgo is also visible from the southern hemisphere at this time, appearing high in the eastern sky during the early evening.
Why it matters: Stargazers in the northern hemisphere have a week-long window to spot one of the zodiac's fainter constellations at a convenient post-2300 BST slot from London, with the view remaining essentially unchanged all week. The deeper payoff: Virgo carries roughly 3,000 years of harvest mythology, with Spica representing an ear of wheat in Demeter's hand — a cultural context most viewing guides gloss over.
