W Virginis is the prototype

W Virginis variable W Virginis variables are a subclass of Type II Cepheids which exhibit pulsation periods between 10–20 days,Wallerstein, G."The Cepheids of Population II and Related Stars" ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific'', 114 p.689– ...

, a subclass of the

Cepheid variable A Cepheid variable () is a type of star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature and producing changes in brightness with a well-defined stable period and amplitude. A strong direct relationship between a Cepheid varia ...

stars. It is located in the constellation

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 ...

, and varies between magnitudes 9.46 and 10.75 over a period of approximately 17 days. There are variations in the light curve apparently due to multiple pulsation periods rather than inherent instabilities in the pulsation. The dominant pulsation mode has a period of 17.27134 days with a period decrease detected over a 75-year period. The pulsations cause changes in both temperature and size, leading to large changes in the luminosity and brightness. The maximum temperature occurs when the star is at its brightest visually, when the star is also at its smallest. The minimum temperature and maximum radius occur at around phase 0.5 when the brightness is decreasing and nearly at minimum. Because relatively more

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

radiation is produced when the star is cooler, the maximum brightness in the infrared occurs when the visual brightness is already decreasing, and the maximum

bolometric luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a s ...

occurs at around phase 0.25 around halfway from maximum to minimum visual brightness. W Virginis stars are old helium shell burning stars with masses less than the sun. They have supergiant spectral luminosity classes despite their modest masses and actual luminosities, because they are highly inflated evolved stars with very low surface gravities. W Virginis itself is typical, with a mass less than half the sun, pulsating between 20 and 50 times the sun's radius, and a luminosity that varies from less than to over .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:W Virginis Virgo (constellation) W Virginis variables 116802 F-type supergiants 065531 Virginis, W Durchmusterung objects