Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi Virginis)

Altitude: 34.1° Azimuth: 202.2° Direction: South-South-West

Elgafar, also designated as φ Virginis (phi Virginis), is a variable and multiple sub-giant star in the constellation of Virgo.

Elgafar visual magnitude is 4.81. Because of its moderate brightness, Elgafar should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Elgafar:

Color of Elgafar ⬤

Magnitude of Elgafar 4.81

Class Sub-giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi Virginis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 34.1°
Azimuth: 202.2°
Direction: South-South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Elgafar

Elgafar 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 Elgafar are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 14h 28m 12s

Declination J2000 -02° 13’ 41”

Galactic Longitude 345.22°

Galactic Latitude 52.51°

Constellation Virgo

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Elgafar in the sky:

Finder chart Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi Virginis) star

Simplified finder chart for Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi Virginis).

Visibility of Elgafar 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 Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi 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: 92.2° RISE 9:40

Max altitude: 36.3° TRANSIT 15:27

Azimuth: 267.8° SET 21:14

Digitized Sky Survey image of Elgafar

The image below is a photograph of Elgafar 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 Elgafar is -0.139 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.002 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Elgafar - φ Virginis (phi Virginis) star

DSS2 image of Elgafar. The red arrow shows the motion of Elgafar during the next 1000 years (-2.32 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.03 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Elgafar from the Sun and relative movement

Elgafar is distant 134.99 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 10 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 41.41 pc

Distance (light year) 134.99 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -10 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.139 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Elgafar

Elgafar belongs to spectral class G2 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

Absolute magnitude 1.72

Spectral Type G2IV

Color Index (B-V) 0.7

Temperature of Elgafar 5602K

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

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

Elgafar star system properties

Elgafar is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of small or medium telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Elgafar double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 4.81

Secondary star magnitude 8.71

Magnitude difference 3.9

Separation 5.1 arcsec

Alternative designations of Elgafar

Proper Name Elgafar

Bayer designation φ Virginis
(phi Virginis)

Flamsteed designation 105 Virginis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD126868

SAO Catalogue SAO139951

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP70755

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-01 2957

Gliese Catalogue Gl 550.2A

FK5 Catalogue 533

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 6675

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS9273

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