Star
Spica
Blue-white star · B1V
α Virginis · Virgo
Shown in its true colour — like most stars, it is too far away to photograph as more than a point of light.
Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analysis of its parallax shows that it is located 250±10 light-years from the Sun. It is triple star system, containing an inner spectroscopic binary and rotating ellipsoidal variable; a system whose two stars are so close together they are egg-shaped rather than spherical, and can only be separated by their spectra. The outer companion is orbiting farther away from the binary. The primary is a blue giant and a variable star of the Beta Cephei type. Spica is surrounded by a faint H II region or ultraviolet cloud.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~250 light-years
Apparent mag.
+0.98
Spectral type
B1V
Luminosity
2,070 × Sun
Absolute mag.
−3.44
Catalogue
HIP 65474
Spectral type
B1V
True colour from its B–V index (-0.23): a surface around 14400 K.
Did you know
- Spica is also known as α Virginis.
- Its spectral type B1V marks it as a blue-white star.
- It lies in the constellation Virgo.
