1.1 KiB
| name | constellation | created_by | created_date | updated_by | updated_date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spika (α Virginis) | Vir | 8mag | 2022-01-21 17:00:00 | skybber | 2022-02-04 20:26:46.816769 |
the brightest star in the constellation, reaching 1st magnitude. This pure white, bright star can be used for orientation in the spring sky, because together with the stars Regulus in Leo and Arcturus in Arcturus, it forms the so-called spring triangle, a kind of analogue of the better known summer triangle. It is located at the elongated junction of the upper right and lower left wheels of the Big Dipper. It is about 250 light years away and 2,800 times the luminosity of the Sun. It is a very close spectroscopic binary (eclipsing variable star) with a period of 4.014 days. During this period, it undergoes periodic slight partial eclipses of about a tenth of its brightness, which are not visually noticeable. In addition, the main star of this pair shows a faint pulsation with a period of 0.174 days. Spica has a surface temperature of nearly 20,000 ˚C, shining with a power of more than a thousand Suns.