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Spica
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Spica

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Also known as: Alpha Virginis
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Latin:
“Head of Grain”
Also called:
Alpha Virginis
See all related content

Spica, brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo and one of the 15 brightest in the entire sky, having an apparent visual magnitude of 1.04. It is a bluish star; spectroscopic examination reveals Spica to be a binary with a four-day period, its two components being of the first and third magnitudes, respectively. Spica lies about 250 light-years from Earth.

(List of Brightest Stars as Seen from Earth)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.