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{{Night Sky
{{Night Sky
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| parallax =117.35 ± 0.69 mas
| parallax =117.35 ± 0.69 mas
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'''61 Virginis''' is a star located in the [[constellation]] of [[Virgo]] some 27.8 light years from [[Earth]]. It is visible to the unaided eye in sufficiently dark skies as a dim point of light with an apparent magnitude of 4.74. This otherwise nondescript star is noted for the recent discovery of three extrasolar planets in orbit.
'''61 Virginis''' is a star located in the [[constellation]] of [[Virgo]] some 27.8 light years from [[Earth]]. It is visible to the unaided eye in sufficiently dark skies as a dim point of light with an apparent magnitude of 4.74. This otherwise nondescript star is noted for the recent discovery of three extrasolar planets in orbit.
==Star System==
==Star System==
61 Virginis has garnered interest because of its similarity to our Sun, and is considered one of the top 100 target stars for NASA's planned [[Terrestrial Planet Finder]] (TPF). This interest has increased in December 2009 when two "super-Earth" and one [[Neptune]] sized world was announced found orbiting the [[star]].<ref>http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=3439</ref>
61 Virginis has garnered interest because of its similarity to our Sun, and is considered one of the top 100 target stars for NASA's planned [[Terrestrial Planet Finder]] (TPF). This interest has increased in December 2009 when two "super-Earth" and one [[Neptune]] sized world was announced found orbiting the [[star]].<ref>http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=3439</ref>
===The Star===
===The Star===
61 Virginis is a yellow-orange main sequence dwarf of spectral type G5-6 V. The star is a near twin of our own [[Sun]], with 92 to 96 percent of its mass, and 94 to 98 percent of its diameter.<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2005ApJS..159..141V</ref> The star is also somewhat less luminous in comparison, with a total bolometric luminosity of 81 percent that of our Sun.<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008A%26A...487..373S</ref> The star is considered "metal-rich" with a [[metallicity]] 1.1 times that of our Sun, based on the abundance of [[iron]] in the star.
61 Virginis is a yellow-orange main sequence dwarf of spectral type G5-6 V. The star is a near twin of our own [[Sun]], with 92 to 96 percent of its mass, and 94 to 98 percent of its diameter.<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2005ApJS..159..141V</ref> The star is also somewhat less luminous in comparison, with a total bolometric luminosity of 81 percent that of our Sun.<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008A%26A...487..373S</ref> The star is considered "metal-rich" with a [[metallicity]] 1.1 times that of our Sun, based on the abundance of [[iron]] in the star.
===61 Virginis b===
===61 Virginis b===
'''61 Virginis b''' is the closest known planet to the star 61 Virginis, orbiting at a distance of only 0.050201 AU, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.12. At this distance, the world would complete an orbit in only 4.215 days. The planet has a mass 5.1 ±0.5 times of the [[Earth]], classifying the world as a "super Earth". If the planet has a solid, terrestrial surface, it would be mostly molten rock.<ref name="vogt2">http://arxiv.org/abs/0912.2599v1</ref>
'''61 Virginis b''' is the closest known planet to the star 61 Virginis, orbiting at a distance of only 0.050201 AU, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.12. At this distance, the world would complete an orbit in only 4.215 days. The planet has a mass 5.1 ±0.5 times of the [[Earth]], classifying the world as a "super Earth". If the planet has a solid, terrestrial surface, it would be mostly molten rock.<ref name="vogt2">http://arxiv.org/abs/0912.2599v1</ref>
===61 Virginis c===
===61 Virginis c===
'''61 Virginis c''' is the second closest known planet to the star 61 Virginis. The world has a minimum mass 18.2 times that of the Earth making it likely a small gas giant not unlike [[Uranus]] or [[Neptune]]. The world orbits at a mean distance of 0.2175 AU with an eccentricity of 0.14. At this distance, the planet would orbit in only 38 days.<ref name="vogt2"/>
'''61 Virginis c''' is the second closest known planet to the star 61 Virginis. The world has a minimum mass 18.2 times that of the Earth making it likely a small gas giant not unlike [[Uranus]] or [[Neptune]]. The world orbits at a mean distance of 0.2175 AU with an eccentricity of 0.14. At this distance, the planet would orbit in only 38 days.<ref name="vogt2"/>
===61 Virginis d===
===61 Virginis d===
'''61 Virginis d''' is the farthest known planet that orbits the star 61 Virginis. The planet has the greatest orbital eccentricity of the 61 Virginis system, with an eccentricity of 0.35. The mean distance of the world's orbit is 0.476 AU, a little less than one half of the size of the orbit of the Earth. The world is also the most massive known at 23 times the mass of the Earth. As such, the world is most likely a gas giant not unlike [[Uranus]] or [[Neptune]].<ref name="vogt2"/>
'''61 Virginis d''' is the farthest known planet that orbits the star 61 Virginis. The planet has the greatest orbital eccentricity of the 61 Virginis system, with an eccentricity of 0.35. The mean distance of the world's orbit is 0.476 AU, a little less than one half of the size of the orbit of the Earth. The world is also the most massive known at 23 times the mass of the Earth. As such, the world is most likely a gas giant not unlike [[Uranus]] or [[Neptune]].<ref name="vogt2"/>