In astronomy, 61 Virginis is a star similar to the Sun, located about 27.8 light-years away. It lies at RA 13h 18m 24.31s and declination -18° 18' 40.31 in the constellation of Virgo.
Characteristics
61 Virginis is a main sequence dwarf of spectral type G5 V, with about 96 percent of the Sun's mass, 94 percent of its diameter and around 78 percent of its luminosity. The star may be almost (93 to 95 percent) as enriched as Sol with elements heavier than hydrogen ("metallicity"), based on its abundance of iron.
There is some evidence it may have a jovian or superjovian planet, but seems not to have a nearby massive companion. It is a good candidate for possessing a life-bearing planet somewhat like the Earth, with an orbit slightly less and a year slightly smaller than that of the Earth.
It lies at the southern edge (13:18:24.31-18:18:40.31, ICRS 2000.0) of Constellation Virgo, the Maiden -- southwest of Spica (Alpha Virginis).
As 61Virginis has become one of the top 100 target stars for NASA's planned Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), images of this star and its position relative to the Milky Way in Earth's night sky are now available from the TPF-C team.
61Virginis is a yellow-orange main sequence dwarf of spectral and luminosity type G5-6 V, with about 96 percent of Sol's mass, 94 percent of its diameter (Johnson and Wright, 1983, page 677), and around 78 percent of its luminosity.
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