Star profile
Zavijava
Beta Virginis · Virgo
Nearby starWhat is Zavijava
Zavijava shines discreetly in the western wing of Virgo, a yellow-white F-type star 36 light-years away, almost an elder sister of the Sun. It goes unnoticed to the casual eye, but astronomers know it well: lying almost exactly on the ecliptic, it was the star chosen during the total eclipse of 1922 to confirm the bending of light by solar gravity predicted by Einstein, one of the early proofs of general relativity.
Where it is and when to see it
Zavijava lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 40° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 51° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 54° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 88° S.
It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 99 stars of Virgo in our catalogue. To find it, start from Spica, the brightest: it lies about 27° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 36 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Zavijava
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.59
- Distance
- 35.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 177.674° · Dec 1.765°
- Catalogue
- HIP 57757 · HD 102870
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Virgo
Virgo has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- SpicaAlpha Virginis0.98
- PorrimaGamma Virginis2.74
- VindemiatrixEpsilon Virginis2.85
- HezeZeta Virginis3.38
- MinelauvaDelta Virginis3.39
- Gamma Virginis3.52
- 109 Virginis3.73
- Mu Virginis3.87