Spica, a blue subgiant star in Virgo
Spica is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Virgo. At 249 light years away, it is the 15th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.98.
Spica (HIP 65474)
Spica is a blue subgiant star in the constellation Virgo. At 249 light years away, it is the 15th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.98. Spica is the primary component of a multiple-star system and an intrinsic variable star that varies between magntitudes 0.87 and 0.91 over a period of 4.01 days. The iron abundance of Spica is -0.01 (97.7% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 18.9 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 22,500 and 24,400 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 13h 25.2m, Dec -11° 9.6'
Common designations: Spica, Alpha Virginis, 67 Virginis, HIP 65474, HD 116658, HR 5056
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Brightest stars in Virgo:
(list all)
1
| 0.98
) Spica
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 2 | 2.74 | Porrima |
| 3 | 2.85 | Vindemiatrix |
| 4 | 3.38 | Heze |
| 5 | 3.39 | Auva |
| 6 | 3.59 | Zavijah |
| 7 | 3.73 | 109 Virginis |
| 8 | 3.87 | Rijl al Awwa |
| 9 | 3.89 | Zaniah |
| 10 | 4.04 | Nu Virginis |
| 11 | 4.07 | Syrma |
| 12 | 4.12 | Omicron Virginis |
| 13 | 4.18 | Kappa Virginis |
| 14 | 4.23 | Tau Virginis |
| 15 | 4.38 | Theta Virginis |
| 16 | 4.39 | 110 Virginis |
| 17 | 4.52 | Kkhambaliya |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Spica
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 4.1% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 126.5°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,198 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,192 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 295 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 7,186 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,903 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,493 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Spica
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 201.29835228° ±0.59 mas | -42.35 ±0.62 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -11.16124494° ±0.38 mas | -30.67 ±0.37 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 316.11252364° | -47.78 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 50.84460923° | -21.25 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 13.06 ± 0.70 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: B1IV 1955MmMtS..12....1W.
Radial Velocity:
0.00 ±3.70 km/s [D rating]
2007AN....328..889K.
This star is a spectroscopic binary with an unsolved orbit.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.01 dex
2011A&A...525A..71W.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | -0.19 | -4.60 |
| B | 0.75 | -3.67 |
| V | 0.98 | -3.43 |
| R | ||
| I | 1.28 | -3.13 |
| J | 1.46 | -2.95 |
| H | 1.62 | -2.80 |
| K | 1.69 | -2.72 |
B-V: -0.23 V-I: -0.30
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 76.31 pc (5.4% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,366 pc
Transverse velocity: 18.9 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 34.7 pc | -33.4 pc | 59.2 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -7.7 km/s | -16.6 km/s | -4.9 km/s |