Star profile
Spica
Alpha Virginis · Virgo
Variable starWhat is Spica
Spica shines blue-white in the hand of the Maiden, a hot giant whose light takes nearly 250 years to reach us. Its Latin name means «ear of wheat», and ancient Sumerians, Greeks and Romans tied its rising to the agricultural calendar. A subtle variable, its brightness breathes in rhythm with an invisible companion. The glow arriving tonight set out in an age when harvests still set the clock of Europe.
Where it is and when to see it
Spica lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. Its best month of the year is April: 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 Spica
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.98
- Distance
- 249.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 201.298° · Dec -11.161°
- Catalogue
- HIP 65474 · HD 116658
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.
- PorrimaGamma Virginis2.74
- VindemiatrixEpsilon Virginis2.85
- HezeZeta Virginis3.38
- MinelauvaDelta Virginis3.39
- Gamma Virginis3.52
- ZavijavaBeta Virginis3.59
- 109 Virginis3.73
- Mu Virginis3.87