Star profile
16 Virginis
What is 16 Virginis
16 Virginis is an orange giant of class K0.5 that has reached the red clump: with core hydrogen exhausted, it now fuses helium in a stable phase of its evolution. Its spectrum shows a mild iron underabundance, a chemical fingerprint of its origin. At 308 light-years in Virgo, its light set out as the Royal Society of London was celebrating its early years and modern science was taking institutional shape.
Where it is and when to see it
16 Virginis 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 16 Virginis
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.97
- Distance
- 308.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 185.087° · Dec 3.313°
- Catalogue
- HIP 60172 · HD 107328
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
- 78 Virginis4.92
- HIP 692694.93
- 89 Virginis4.96
- 70 Virginis4.97
- HIP 693894.99