Yellow-white giant · Virgo
μ Virginis
Also known as: μ Vir, HIP 71957
mag 3.960 light-years
About
μ Virginis is a yellow-white giant of magnitude 3.9 in Virgo, about 60 light-years away.
How to find it
- μ Virginis is in the constellation Virgo.
- Best evenings: around mid-June it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
- Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 74° N.
When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.
What you will see
- EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
- Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.
Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.
Facts
| Designation | μ Virginis (μ Vir) |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 71957 |
| Type | Yellow-white giant |
| Spectral type | F2III |
| Colour | Yellowish whiteB−V colour index 0.39 |
| Magnitude | 3.9The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 60 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1966. |
| Proper motion | 0.34″ per year across the sky |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 43m 03.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −05° 39′ 30″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →