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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:54  
clear_day Transit: 11:51  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Virgo » 

Zaniah - η Virginis (eta Virginis)

Altitude: -21.0°   Azimuth: 297.5°   Direction: West-North-West

Zaniah, also designated as η Virginis (eta Virginis), is a variable and multiple sub-giant star in the constellation of Virgo.

Zaniah visual magnitude is 3.89. Because of its moderate brightness, Zaniah 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 Zaniah:

3.89
Sub-giant

Zaniah - η Virginis (eta Virginis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -21.0°
Azimuth: 297.5°
Direction: West-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Zaniah

Zaniah 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 Zaniah are provided in the following table:

12h 19m 54s
-00° 40’ 00”
286.4°
61.19°
Virgo

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

Finder chart Zaniah - η Virginis (eta Virginis) star
Simplified finder chart for Zaniah - η Virginis (eta Virginis).

Visibility of Zaniah 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 Zaniah - η Virginis (eta 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: 90.7°
Max altitude: 37.9°
Azimuth: 269.3°

Digitized Sky Survey image of Zaniah

The image below is a photograph of Zaniah 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 Zaniah is -0.063 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.018 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Zaniah - η Virginis (eta Virginis) star
DSS2 image of Zaniah. The red arrow shows the motion of Zaniah during the next 10000 years (-10.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Zaniah from the Sun and relative movement

Zaniah is distant 249.62 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 2 kilometers per second.

76.57 pc
249.62 ly
2 km/s
-0.063 arcsec/year
-0.018 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Zaniah

Zaniah belongs to spectral class A2 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

-0.53
A2IV
9882K

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

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

Zaniah star system properties

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

3.89
4.39
0.5
0 arcsec

Alternative designations of Zaniah

Zaniah
η Virginis
(eta Virginis)
15 Virginis
SAO138721
SAO138721