February 23, 2012
If you look outside just before sunrise this morning, about one third of the way up in the Southwest, you will see the bright star called Spica. Spica marks the "Ear of Wheat" in the left-hand of Virgo the Virgin. Spica is the 16th brightest star in the sky, and has a measured visual magnitude of exactly 1.00. Spica is rather far away from Earth, 275 light years distant. Spica is actually two massive B type stars. The stars orbit each other in little over four days. If the binary star Spica were appreciably closer to Earth, it would certainly be one of the most impressive sights in our night sky.
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Updated September 3, 2011