Star profile
76 Virginis
What is 76 Virginis
76 Virginis is an orange type-K star about 235 light-years away, within the vast Virgin, the second-largest constellation in the sky. Cooler than the Sun, it radiates a golden light that mingles among the thousands of galaxies of the Virgo Cluster hidden far beyond. Its current photon broke loose toward Earth in the mid-eighteenth century.
Where it is and when to see it
76 Virginis lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 28° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 39° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 66° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 80° N.
It ranks no. 43 in brightness among the 99 stars of Virgo in our catalogue. To find it, start from Spica, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 240 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 76 Virginis
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.21
- Distance
- 235.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 203.242° · Dec -10.165°
- Catalogue
- HIP 66098 · HD 117818
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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
- 90 Virginis5.16
- 59 Virginis5.19
- 57 Virginis5.21
- 32 Virginis5.22
- Omega Virginis5.24