Ephemeris: 05/30/2024 – Virgo and what’s hidden within

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, May 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 18 minutes, setting at 9:20, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:00. The Moon, at last quarter today, will rise at 2:52 tomorrow morning.

One of the large constellations we see in the south at 11 p.m. can be found using the Big Dipper overhead, follow the arc of the handle to the bright star Arcturus, then straighten the arc to a spike to reach Spica, a bright blue-white star in the south. Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, the virgin. She represents the goddess of the harvest, Virgo is holding a sheaf of wheat in depictions of her, and Spica is placed at the head of the sheaf. In the space between Spica and Leo the lion to her upper right is, a great cluster of thousands of galaxies just below naked eye visibility. The Virgo Cluster. Inside that cluster is galaxy M87, in whose center lies a black hole with the mass of 6.5 billion suns. The center of the cluster is at about 54 million light years away. The first black hole imaged by the Earth spanning Event Horizon Telescope.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Star hop from the Big Dipper through Arcturus to Spica and Virgo. Created using Stellarium.

Some of the brighter members of the Virgo Cluster (of galaxies) as red ovals. The galaxies marked with an ‘M’ number are part of Charles Messier’s catalog. It took a telescope of 8 inch diameter for me to spot them. Someone with better vision, like Messier himself can spot them with a smaller telescope. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Some of the galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, seen beyond the stars of our Milky Way galaxy. Click or on tap the image to enlarge it. Credit: GTAS member Dan Dall’Olmo.