Ome

Its story

Omega-1 Virginis burns at nearly five hundred light-years in the Virgin, a red M-type giant in the final phases of its evolution. It is a semi-regular variable: slow pulsations swell and deflate its atmosphere on a months-long rhythm, offering astronomers a natural laboratory for studying the slow deaths of massive stars. Its deep red contrasts with the classical paleness of the zodiacal constellation.