What is the designation of Spica?

Spica /ˈspaɪkə/, designated α Virginis (Latinised to Alpha Virginis, abbreviated Alpha Vir, α Vir), is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. Analysis of its parallax shows that it is located 250 ± 10 light years from the Sun.

What spectral class is Spica?

class B1
Spica belongs to spectral class B1 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

What is Latinized Bayer designation?

A stellar designation given to stars that uses the Greek alphabet followed by the genitive form of the parent constellation’s Latin name. It originates from the naming protocol used in the 1603 star atlas “Uranometria” compiled by German astronomer Johann Bayer.

What does Spica stand for in spectral category?

Spica is a double-lined spectroscopic binary (SB2), which means that spectral lines of both components are visible and the lines are sometimes double and sometimes single.

Where did the star Spica get its name?

The name Spica (pronunciation: /ˈspaɪkə/) comes from the Latin phrase spīca virginis, meaning “the virgin’s ear of grain.” The name was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) on June 30, 2016. It formally applies only to the component Alpha Virginis Aa.

How big is Spica B compared to the main star?

Spica exhibits variations in magnitude of 0.03 over a period matching the stars’ orbital period. Spica B, the secondary member of the star system, belongs to the spectral class B2 V, which means that it is still on the main sequence. It is smaller and less massive than the main component, with only 7 solar masses.

What kind of letter does Bayer assign to a star?

Bayer assigned a lower-case Greek letter (alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ), etc.) or a Latin letter (A, b, c, etc.) to each star he catalogued, combined with the Latin name of the star’s parent constellation in genitive (possessive) form.