The Bright Blue Star Spica in Virgo | New Forest Observatory

The Bright Blue Star Spica in Virgo | New Forest Observatory

Shown here is spectacular Spica, the lead star in the constellation Virgo and the brightest blue star in the entire night sky. This photo was taken from the New Forest Observatory, U.K., on May 5, 2024. Viewed through a pair of decent binoculars, Spica's intense blue color, when its high in the sky, becomes quite obvious. Its B-V index (an indication of the redness or blueness of a star) is -0.23. Only 3 stars in the sky are bluer, but none are as bright.

Spica has a magnitude of 0.98.

Distance: 250 light years

It is a spectroscopic binary star and rotating ellipsoidal variable—a system whose two stars are so close together they are egg-shaped rather than spherical, and can only be separated by their spectra. The primary is a blue giant and a variable star of the Beta Cephei type.

Image & Caption Credit: Greg Parker

Location: New Forest Observatory, U.K. Coordinates: 50.819681, -1.590349

Release Date: Oct. 22, 2024

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