Lambda Virginis (λ Virginis, abbreviated Lambda Vir, λ Vir) is a

binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...

system in the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Virgo Virgo may refer to: *Virgo (astrology), the sixth astrological sign of the zodiac *Virgo (constellation), a constellation *Virgo Cluster, a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo *Virgo Stellar Stream, remains of a dwarf galaxy *Virgo Supe ...

. With an

apparent visual magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's lig ...

of 4.5, it is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Based upon

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

measurements, the system is about 173

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s away from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

. Its two components are designated Lambda Virginis A (formally named Khambalia ) and B.

Nomenclature

''λ Virginis'' ( Latinised to ''Lambda Virginis'') is the system's

Bayer designation A Bayer designation is a stellar designation in which a specific star is identified by a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of its parent constellation's Latin name. The original list of Bayer designations contained 1,564 stars. ...

. The designations of the two components as ''Lambda Virginis A'' and ''B'' derives from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for

multiple star systems A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a ''star cluster'' or ''galaxy'', although, broadly speaking, ...

, and adopted by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU). The system occurs in the

lunar station Often called lunar mansion, a lunar station or lunar house is a segment of the ecliptic through which the Moon passes in its orbit around the Earth. The concept was used by several ancient cultures as part of their calendrical system. Stations in ...

that was given the name χαμβαλια (''khambalia'') in a

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

manuscript list of lunar stations, which Crum concluded were either in "debased" Greek or in a few cases

equivalents of Greek names. Given that the Greeks are not known to have used lunar stations, the origin of the names is unknown. Allen's sourcep.33 of Robert Brown Jr, "Euphratean Stellar Researches", part V, in the ''Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology'', vol. xviii, no. cxxxiv, 1896 Jan 14, pp.25–44. translates the name as "the crooked-clawed", and identifies it with the Greek word γαμψωλή ''gampsôlê'', which Liddell & Scott identify as a variant of γαμψότης ''gampsotês'' "''crookedness'', of talons". (

has no sound, and so often substitutes ''k'' for ''g'' in Greek words, though not usually ''kh''.) In 2016, the IAU organized a

Working Group on Star Names The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under Division C – Education ...

(WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems. It approved the name ''Khambalia'' for the component Lambda Virginis A on 5 September 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names. In China, (), meaning ''

Neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

'', refers to an asterism consisting of this system, Kappa Virginis, Iota Virginis and

Phi Virginis Phi Virginis (φ Virginis, abbreviated Phi Vir, φ Vir) is a binary star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. It can be seen with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of +4.81. Based upon parallax measurements obtained duri ...

. Consequently, Lambda Virginis itself is known as (, en, the Fourth Star of Neck.)

Properties

Lambda Virginis is a double-lined

spectroscopic binary A binary star is a system of two star, stars that are gravity, gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separa ...

with an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 206.7 days and an

eccentricity Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-center, in geometry * Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...

of 0.0610. The

semi-major axis In geometry, the major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter: a line segment that runs through the center and both foci, with ends at the two most widely separated points of the perimeter. The semi-major axis (major semiaxis) is the long ...

has an angular size of 0.02

arcseconds A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

, which, at the distance of this system, is equivalent to a physical span of AU. The orbit is inclined by an angle of 110° to the line of sight from the Earth. Tidal theory predicts that eventually the orbit of the stars will circularize and their rotation rates will become synchronized with their orbital motion. However, this will occur over a time scale of more than 1.2 billion years, whereas their estimated age is 935 million years. The combined spectra of the two components has a

stellar classification In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...

of A1V, which matches an

A-type main-sequence star An A-type main-sequence star (A V) or A dwarf star is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type A and luminosity class V (five). These stars have spectra defined by strong hydrogen Balmer absorption lines. They measure between 1 ...

. They have magnitudes of +5.0 and +5.6. Both components are

Am star An Am star or metallic-line star is a type of chemically peculiar star of spectral type A whose spectrum has strong and often variable absorption lines of metals such as zinc, strontium, zirconium, and barium, and deficiencies of others, such as ca ...

s, indicating they appear chemically peculiar. The primary appears to be rotating around 3.5 times faster than the secondary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambda Virginis Virginis, Lambda Virgo (constellation) Spectroscopic binaries A-type main-sequence stars Virginis, 100 069974 5359 125337 Durchmusterung objects