Porrima

Its story

Porrima, in the constellation Virgo, is a yellow star just 38 light-years from the Earth: a very close neighbour by cosmic standards, almost on the doorstep of the Solar System. It carries the name of one of the ancient Roman Camenae, minor goddesses who sang the future and watched over women in labour during childbirth, a humble yet crucial role in the domestic religion of Rome. Its steady, gentle light has been crossing European spring skies since long before photography had even been invented in its most rudimentary form anywhere.