46 Virginis

46 Virginis is a variable and multiple giant star in the constellation of Virgo.

46 Virginis visual magnitude is 5.99. Because of its reltive faintness, 46 Virginis should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 46 Virginis:

Color of 46 Virginis ⬤

Magnitude of 46 Virginis 5.99

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW 46 Virginis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt. Altitude: 5°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 46 Virginis

46 Virginis is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 46 Virginis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 13h 00m 35s

Declination J2000 -03° 22’ 06”

Galactic Longitude 307.43°

Galactic Latitude 59.42°

Constellation Virgo

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 46 Virginis in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for 46 Virginis.

Visibility of 46 Virginis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 46 Virginis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 93.4° RISE 15:35

Max altitude: 35.2° TRANSIT 21:16

Azimuth: 266.6° SET 3:01

RIGHT NOW 46 Virginis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of 46 Virginis

The image below is a photograph of 46 Virginis from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 46 Virginis is -0.025 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.05 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of 46 Virginis. The red arrow shows the motion of 46 Virginis during the next 10000 years (-4.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and 8.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 46 Virginis from the Sun and relative movement

46 Virginis is distant 344.24 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 23 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 105.60 pc

Distance (light year) 344.24 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 23 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.025 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.05 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 46 Virginis

46 Virginis belongs to spectral class K2 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.87

Spectral Type K2III

Color Index (B-V) 1.12

Temperature of 46 Virginis 4472K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 46 Virginis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of 46 Virginis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

46 Virginis star system properties

46 Virginis is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 46 Virginis double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 5.99

Secondary star magnitude 9.89

Magnitude difference 3.9

Separation 1.1 arcsec

Alternative designations of 46 Virginis

Flamsteed designation 46 Virginis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD112992

SAO Catalogue SAO139096

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP63494

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-02 3609

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 6053

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS8732

In Evidence

Other stars in Virgo