This is a massive star with more than 10 times the mass of the Sun and seven times its radius.
What kind of star is Spica?
Spica is a close double star The star Spica – aka Alpha Virginis – is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. From a distance of 262 light-years away, Spica appears to us on Earth to be a lone bluish-white star in a quiet region of the sky.
How big is the Spica star?
around 7.47 solar radii Distance, Size, and Mass Both stars have greater radii than our sun, with the primary Spica star having around 7.47 solar radii thus a diameter of around fourteen times that of the sun. The secondary Spica star has around 3.74 solar radii, thus around seven times the sun's diameter.
What is the size of Spica compared to the sun?
Spica has a spectral type of B1V, a surface temperature of 22,400° Kelvin and a luminosity 12,100 times the Sun. It has a mass of 10.3 solar masses and a diameter 7.4 times the Sun.
Is Spica a supernova?
Spica is the leading light of the constellation Virgo. It's only about 250 light-years away. That makes it the closest supernova candidate in its category. That category is known as a “Type 2” supernova.
Is Spica a white dwarf?
Its core will become a white dwarf. It'll be roughly as massive as the Sun, but a little bigger than Earth — many times larger than a neutron star. Neither star is near its end, though, so Spica should continue to shine brightly for a long time to come.
Is Spica a planet?
One system where we're not likely to find planets is Spica, the brightest star of Virgo. It's well to the right of the Moon at first light tomorrow. Spica is a binary — two stars that are bound to each other by their gravity. The surfaces of the two stars are only a few million miles apart.
What is the luminosity of Aldebaran?
518 L☉Aldebaran / Luminosity
Is Spica the brightest star?
Spica, (Latin: “Head of Grain”) also called Alpha Virginis, brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo and one of the 15 brightest in the entire sky, having an apparent visual magnitude of 1.04.
Is Spica visible to the naked eye?
It is visible not only because of its size, but also because of its relatively close distance: it is about 260 light-years away from Earth. While the star appears as a single point of light to the naked eye, Spica is a binary system. One star, however, is much brighter than the other one.