Virgo
Zodiacal constellation of the northern hemisphere, the second-largest in the sky. It is represented as a maiden holding an ear of wheat, marked by first-magnitude Spica, Virgo's brightest star. The Sun passes through Virgo from late September to the end of October. In astrology, the dates for Virgo are between about 23 August and 22 September (see precession).
Virgo contains the nearest large cluster of galaxies to us, 50 million light years away, consisting of about 3,000 galaxies centred on the giant elliptical galaxy M87. Also in Virgo is the nearest quasar, 3C 273, an estimated 3 billion light years away.
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