Some brighter stars make orientation on the spring sky easier. If you follow the swing of the handle of the Big Dipper, you will stumble upon the bright star Arcturus in Bootes and then Spica in Virgo. Together with Regulus in Leo, these bright stars form the Spring Triangle.
Virgo and Leo are well known for their galaxies. The two constellations are not only far away from the dusty galactic plane, so that the view of the universe is unobstructed, in this direction is also the center of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It is located between ε Virginis and β Leonis and extends up into the constellation Coma Berenices. In a distance of „only“ 65 million light-years there are up to 3,000 galaxies, which form the next big cluster of galaxies. This „kingdom of galaxies“ has a diameter of about 10°, which corresponds to about 16 million light-years. It is part of a much larger super cluster. Our own galaxy is on the edge of this super cluster, which also includes the galaxies in the Canes Venatici, Leo and Ursa Major..