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Spica
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 light-years from the Sun. It is a spectroscopic binary star 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 primary is a blue giant and a variable star of the Beta Cephei type. Spica, along with Arcturus and Denebola—or Regulus, depending on the source—forms the Spring Triangle asterism, and, by extension, is also part of the Great Diamond together with the star Cor Caroli. Nomenclature In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of ...
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Virgo (constellation)
Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for maiden, and its old astronomical symbol is (♍︎). Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second-largest constellation in the sky (after Hydra) and the largest constellation in the zodiac. The ecliptic intersects the celestial equator within this constellation and Pisces. Underlying these technical two definitions, the sun passes directly overhead of the equator, within this constellation, at the September equinox. Virgo can be easily found through its brightest star, Spica. Location Virgo is prominent in the spring sky in the Northern Hemisphere, visible all night in March and April. As the largest zodiac constellation, the Sun takes 44 days to pass through it, longer than any other. From 1990 and until 2062, this will take place from September 16 to October 30. It is located in the third quadrant of the Southern Hemisphere (SQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +80° ...
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Arcturus
, - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the individual stars in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. The name Arcturus originated from ancient Greece; it was then cataloged as α Boötis by Johann Bayer in 1603, which is Latinized to Alpha Boötis. Arcturus forms one corner of the Spring Triangle asterism. Located relatively close at 36.7 light-years from the Sun, Arcturus is a single red giant of spectral type K1.5III—an aging star around 7.1 billion years old that has used up its core hydrogen and evolved off the main sequence. It is about the same mass as the Sun, but has expanded to 25 times its size and is around 170 times as luminous. Its diameter is 35 million kilometres. Thus far no companion has been detected. Nomenclat ...
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Spring Triangle
The Spring Triangle is an astronomical asterism involving an imaginary triangle drawn upon the celestial sphere, with its defining vertices at Arcturus, Spica, and Regulus. This triangle connects the constellations of Boötes, Virgo, and Leo. It is visible rising in the south eastern sky of the northern hemisphere between March and May. George Lovi of Sky & Telescope magazine had a slightly different ''Spring triangle'', including the tail of Leo, Denebola, instead of Regulus. Denebola is dimmer, but the triangle is more nearly equilateral. These stars form parts of a larger Spring asterism called the Great Diamond together with Cor Caroli. The stars of the Spring Triangle See also * Summer Triangle *Winter Triangle The Winter Triangle is an astronomical asterism formed from three of the brightest stars in the winter sky. It is an imaginary equilateral triangle drawn on the celestial sphere, with its defining vertices at Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon, the ... * ...
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Rotating Ellipsoidal Variable
Rotating ellipsoidal variables are a class of variable star. They are close binary systems whose components are ellipsoidal. They are not eclipsing, but fluctuations in apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ... occur due to changes in the amount of light emitting area visible to the observer. Typical brightness fluctuations do not exceed 0.1 magnitudes. The brightest rotating ellipsoidal variable is Spica (α Virginis). References * Morris, S.L. "The Ellipsoidal Variable Stars", ApJ 295: 143–152, 1985 August 1 * Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V., et al. ''Combined General Catalog of Variable Stars (GCVS4.2, 2004 Ed.)'' * Variable stars * {{var-star-stub ...
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Rotating Ellipsoidal Variable
Rotating ellipsoidal variables are a class of variable star. They are close binary systems whose components are ellipsoidal. They are not eclipsing, but fluctuations in apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ... occur due to changes in the amount of light emitting area visible to the observer. Typical brightness fluctuations do not exceed 0.1 magnitudes. The brightest rotating ellipsoidal variable is Spica (α Virginis). References * Morris, S.L. "The Ellipsoidal Variable Stars", ApJ 295: 143–152, 1985 August 1 * Samus N.N., Durlevich O.V., et al. ''Combined General Catalog of Variable Stars (GCVS4.2, 2004 Ed.)'' * Variable stars * {{var-star-stub ...
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Asterism (astronomy)
An asterism is an observed pattern or group of stars in the sky. Asterisms can be any identified pattern or group of stars, and therefore are a more general concept than the formally defined 88 constellations. Constellations are based on asterisms, but unlike asterisms, constellations outline and today completely divide the sky and all its celestial objects into regions around their central asterisms. For example, the asterism known as the Big Dipper comprises the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major. Another is the asterism of the Southern Cross, within the constellation of Crux. Asterisms range from simple shapes of just a few stars to more complex collections of many stars covering large portions of the sky. The stars themselves may be bright naked-eye objects or fainter, even telescopic, but they are generally all of a similar brightness to each other. The larger brighter asterisms are useful for people who are familiarizing themselves with the night sky ...
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Beta Cephei Variable
Beta Cephei variables, also known as Beta Canis Majoris stars, are variable stars that exhibit small rapid variations in their brightness due to pulsations of the stars' surfaces, thought due to the unusual properties of iron at temperatures of 200,000 K in their interiors. These stars are usually hot blue-white stars of spectral class B and should not be confused with Cepheid variables, which are named after Delta Cephei and are luminous supergiant stars. Properties Beta Cephei variables are main-sequence stars of masses between about 7 and 20 M_\odot (that is, 7–20 times as massive as the Sun). Among their number are some of the brightest stars in the sky, such as Beta Crucis and Beta Centauri; Spica is also classified as a Beta Cephei variable but mysteriously stopped pulsating in 1970. Typically, they change in brightness by 0.01 to 0.3 magnitudes with periods of 0.1 to 0.3 days (2.4–7.2 hours). The prototype of these variable stars, Beta Cephei, shows variation in appa ...
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Great Diamond
The Great Diamond is an asterism. Astronomy popularizer Hans A. Rey called it the Virgin's Diamond. (In fact, long before mentioned in R. Hinckley-Allen's "Star-Names and Their Meanings", 1899, p.259, as "the celebrated Diamond of Virgo"; see also p.467). It is composed of the following stars: *Cor Caroli (α CVn), in Canes Venatici *Denebola (β Leo), the tail of Leo *Spica (α Vir), the wheat of Virgo *Arcturus (α Boo), the brightest star in Boötes The Great Diamond is larger than the Big Dipper. The three southernmost stars are sometimes regarded as being their own asterism, the Spring Triangle. Lying within the Great Diamond is the set of stars traditionally assigned to Coma Berenices. Many nearby galaxies, including galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, are within this asterism, and some of these galaxies can easily be observed with amateur telescopes. See also * Winter Triangle * Summer Triangle * Winter Hexagon The Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle/Oval is an asteris ...
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Denebola
Denebola is the second-brightest star in the zodiac constellation of Leo.The two components of the γ Leonis double star, which are unresolved to the naked eye, have a combined magnitude brighter than it. It has the Bayer designation Beta Leonis or β Leonis, which are abbreviated Beta Leo or β Leo. Denebola is an A-type main sequence star with 75% more mass than the Sun and 15 times the Sun's luminosity. Based on parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, the star is at a distance of from the Sun. Its apparent visual magnitude is 2.14, making it readily visible to the naked eye. Denebola is a Delta Scuti type variable star, meaning its luminosity varies very slightly over a period of a few hours. Nomenclature ''β Leonis'' ( Latinised to ''Beta Leonis'') is the star's Bayer designation. In Johann Bayer's ''Uranometria'' (1603), it was designated β (Beta) as the second-brightest star in the constellation. It also bears the Flamsteed desig ...
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ζ Virginis
Zeta Virginis (ζ Virginis, abbreviated Zeta Vir, ζ Vir) is a binary star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.376 and is located about a half degree south of the celestial equator. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is about distant from the Sun. The two components are designated Zeta Virginis A (officially named Heze , a mid-20th-century name for the system) and B. Nomenclature ''ζ Virginis'' ( Latinised to ''Zeta Virginis'') is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the two components as ''Zeta Virginis A'' and ''B'' derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Zeta Virginis bore the name ''Heze'' in a 1951 publication, ''Atlas Coeli'' ( Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens), by Czech astronomer Antonín Bečvář. Its origin ...
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List Of Brightest Stars
This is a list of stars arranged by their apparent magnitude – their brightness as observed from Earth. It includes all stars brighter than magnitude +2.50 in visible light, measured using a ''V''-band filter in the UBV photometric system. Stars in binary systems (or other multiples) are listed by their ''total'' or ''combined'' brightness if they appear as a single star to the naked eye, or listed separately if they do not. As with all magnitude systems in astronomy, the scale is logarithmic and inverted i.e. lower/more negative numbers are brighter. Most stars on this list appear bright from Earth because they are nearby, not because they are intrinsically luminous. For a list which compensates for the distances, converting the ''apparent'' magnitude to the ''absolute'' magnitude, see the list of most luminous stars. Measurement The Sun is the brightest star as viewed from Earth, at −26.74 mag. The second brightest is Sirius at −1.46 mag. For c ...
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Horn (Chinese Constellation)
The Horn mansion (角宿, pinyin: Jiǎo Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenisti .... It is one of the eastern mansions of the Azure Dragon. Asterisms {{DEFAULTSORT:Horn (Chinese Constellation) Chinese constellations ...
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