Mother of All Asteroids

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Virgo was a charmed part of the sky for Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers (b.

October, 1758). In 1796 he found his second comet South of Virgo's

brightest star, Spica. In 1802 he made the first recovery of 1 Ceres

in Virgo (thanks to calculations by mathematician Carl F. Gauss), a

year to the day after its discovery. A few months later he discovered

Pallas in the northern part of Virgo. Five years and one day after

that, he likewise spotted Vesta in Virgo, close to its current

location. Vesta's track among the stars this year is rather similar

to the course it took 196 years ago.

www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/asteroids/article_895_2.asp

 

Was the naming of Vesta by Olbers arbitrary? If not, we have to

understand the Roman cult of Vesta. Vesta is the goddess of the

hearth fire, of both the home and the State; the eternal and holy

fireplace of spirit, the place where one dwells, i.e. state-of-being.

Virgo is an earth sign that makes the connection between the material

world and the heavenly world; analytical ability; seeks to make sense

out of the world, to observe, study, research, compare, and record.

Virgo likes paper, where ideas are presented in tangible form; often

a fine writer, poet, or critic.

 

The constellation Virgo is famous for its galaxies, and Vesta's

journey takes it past many such deep-sky denizens near the heart of

the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.

www.njaa.org/news/vesta.html

 

Vesta now resides in the constellation Virgo, the virgin. Around

10:30 p.m. on March 1 (9:30 p.m. March 15, 8:30 p.m. April 1), the

majestic maiden stands upright on your eastern horizon, stretching

halfway to the summit of the sky. Throughout March, the asteroid

lingers near her arm -- as if it's a stone adorning her bracelet.

www.idialstars.com/ves.htm

 

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