Zeta Virginis [SEP] constellation
Zeta Virginis
Zeta Virginis (ζ Virginis, abbreviated Zeta Vir, ζ Vir) is a binary star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.376 and is located about a half degree south of the celestial equator. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is about distant from the Sun.
The two components are designated Zeta Virginis A (officially named Heze , a mid-20th-century name for the system) and B.
Nomenclature.
"ζ Virginis" (Latinised to "Zeta Virginis") is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the two components as "Zeta Virginis A" and "B" derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Zeta Virginis bore the name "Heze" in a 1951 publication, "Atlas Coeli" (Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens), by Czech astronomer Antonín Bečvář. Its origin