Spica is a rotating ellipsoidal variable, which is a non-eclipsing close binary star system where the stars are mutually distorted through their gravitational interaction. This effect causes the apparent magnitude of the star system to vary by 0.03 over an interval that matches the orbital period.

May 19, 2024 · The star Spica – aka Alpha Virginis – is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. From a distance of about 250 light-years , Spica appears to us on Earth as a lone bluish ...

Jan 8, 2025 · Spica is the 15th brightest star in the sky and the brightest in the Virgo constellation. The star is also known as Alpha Virginis and is situated around 250 light-years from Earth....

5 days ago · Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Also, it is ranked as the 15th brightest star overall (or 16th, if you count the Sun ). Learn the brightest stars, their constellations, distance from the Earth, and best time to see!

Spica, brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo and one of the 15 brightest in the entire sky, having an apparent visual magnitude of 1.04. It is a bluish star; spectroscopic examination reveals Spica to be a binary with a four-day period, its two

Oct 8, 2019 · Spica, Alpha Virginis (α Vir), is a blue-white spectroscopic binary star located at a distance of 250 light years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. With an apparent magnitude of 0.97, it is the brightest star in Virgo and the 16th brightest star in the sky.

Jan 20, 2020 · Spica is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It is the 17 th brightest star, and it is a spectroscopic binary star being a rotating ellipsoidal variable.

Aug 25, 2014 · Spica, Alpha Virginis, is the brightest star in the southern constellation Virgo and the 16th brightest star in the sky. It is a blue subgiant star located at a distance of 250 light years from Earth. Spica is really a close binary star system. It is one of the nearest massive binary stars to the solar system.

Apr 22, 2016 · The familiar star Spica (Alpha Virginis) is the fifteenth brightest star in the night sky, in part because it is relatively nearby, only about 250 light-years away. It is easy to find by following the arc of the Big Dipper's handle and using the mnemonic, "Arc to Arcturus (Alpha Bootes) and then spike to Spica."

The history of the star: Spica. from p.466 of Star Names, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889. Alpha (α) Virgo, Spica, is a binary, brilliant flushed white star marking the Ear of Wheat shown in the Virgin’s left hand.