Jupiter is in the contellation Virgo (the Virgin) this year, and that
makes it easier to pick out this large constellation. Virgo is large and
faint. Except for hugely bright Spica, the other stars in Virgo are 3rd
and 4th magnitude, or about as bright as most of the stars in the Little
Dipper. We can see them easily on a good night up here, but they sure
don't stand out. Between Spica and Jupiter, we might be able to orient
ourselves and fill in the rest of the constellation, but it's still a
tough constellation to see. Even making the figure for this article, it
was tricky to figure out just where to draw my grey lines.

To find Spica, start with the Big Dipper's handle, "follow the arc to
Arcturus," and then on to Spica. If you want a picture of how to get to
Spica from the Big Dipper,  pull last month's wind out of the trash. Or
you can just look South or Soutwest in the evening, and Jupiter will be
the brightest thing around.

Virgo is huge! She is lying down, spreading over a quarter of the sky
(45 degrees) from the tip of her pointy head to the bottom of her short
legs. As usual, most books connect the dots in a way that makes her look
like a squashed bug, and only H. A. Ray (the Curious George author)
makes her look even remotely human. But I have to say, she's not very
attractive. Maybe she's so faint because she shy, and she's actually
very embarassed to be wearing a star as bright as Spica right on her
bottom.