HD 133600, also known as HIP 73815, is a G-type

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Virgo Virgo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Virgo (film), a 1970 Egyptian film * Virgo (character), several Marvel Comics characters * Virgo Asmita, a character in the manga ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'' * ''Virgo'' (album), by Virgo Four, ...

. It has an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star, astronomical object or other celestial objects like artificial satellites. Its value depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance, and any extinction of the object's light ca ...

of approximately 8.219^m. It is similar to the Sun and has been called a near

solar twin Solar-type stars, solar analogs (also analogues), and solar twins are stars that are particularly similar to the Sun. The stellar classification is a hierarchy with solar twin being most like the Sun followed by solar analog and then solar-type. ...

, as it is 1.5 billion years older than the Sun. Its distance is 54.6 parsecs (178 light years) from the Sun. Mass is within 3 percent of the Sun. Near solar twins can help us to understand solar activity such as

solar flare A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and ot ...

s and

sunspot Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are one of the most recognizable Solar phenomena and despite the fact that they are mostly visible in the solar photosphere they usually aff ...

cycles over longer time periods than the historical records, and to put unique historical events such as the Maunder minimum in context. They can also be used to set the zero point of fundamental calibrations in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

, and models of solar evolution. Near solar twins can also help answer whether the Sun is unique or not. It used to be thought that the Sun might be unique for its low lithium abundance. This star was one of two stars that were used in 2007 papers by Melendez & Ramırez to show that the Sun was not unique in this respect as it has lithium abundance similar to the Sun, but is not an ideal comparison as HD 133600 is 1.5 billion years older than the Sun. Yet, this has made it a useful star for studies into the problem of the depleted lithium abundance at the solar surface compared with other stars, something that is not yet fully understood, and known as the Lithium depletion problem.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HD 133600 Virgo (constellation) G-type main-sequence stars 133600 073815 Durchmusterung objects