Contents

Syrma Star Facts (Iota Virginis)

Updated : 04/02/2025

Star Map

Syrma, also known as Iota Virginis (Bayer) is a main sequence star located in the constellation of Virgo, The Virgin. Syrma is a major star and forms part of the constellation.

Based on the spectral type (F7V), Syrma colour is yellow - white.

Syrma temperature is in the range of between 6,000 and 7,500 Kelvin. Syrma effective temperature is 6,168 Kelvin which is hotter than the Sun's effective temperature, which is 5,777 Kelvin. Based on a parallax of 44.97, Syrma distance from Earth can be calculated at being 72.53 light years away or 21.39 parsecs.

Syrma is a naked-eye star, so you don't need a telescope or binoculars when you look up on a clear night. The lower the magnitude, the easier it will be to see it.

The Michigan Spectral Classification for Syrma is F6 III. The Hipparcos or Simbad spectral class is F7V, and it is the latter which will be used for descriptions on this site.

Location

Syrma location in sky is determined by the right ascension (R.A.) and declination (Dec.). These are equivalent to the Longitude and Latitude on Earth. The Right Ascension (Longitude) is expressed in time (hh:mm:ss) and is how far the star is along Earth's celestial equator. If the R.A. is positive, then it's eastwards and vice versa.

The Declination (Latitude) is how far north or south the object is compared to the celestial equator and is expressed in degrees. If the value is positive, it is north of the celestial equator. For Syrma, the location is 14h 16m 00.88 and -05° 59` 58.3 .

Based on the location of Virgo, Syrma can be located in the equatorial region of the celestial sky. The celestial hemisphere is equivalent to the hemispheres on Earth. Being in the equatorial region, Syrma can be seen in both terrestrial hemispheres but there is a caveat of depending how far south and north you are. Syrma is on the Ecliptic. The Ecliptic is the path that the Earth takes as it orbits the Sun. As the Earth is titled, we therefore have Celestial and Ecliptic hemispheres and they can be different for a star.

Physical Properties

Spectral Type

Syrma spectral type of F7V which means its colour and type is yellow to white main sequence star. There is no relationship between colour and size. For example, a red star can be large or small. Small stars are more energy efficient than larger stars and live longer.

Syrma Luminosity

Luminosity is the amount of energy a star pumps out relative to the amount that our star, the Sun, gives out. Our star, the Sun's value is 1. Syrma Luminosity figure of 9.965 comes from the Vizier online catalogue. The star generates more energy than our star.

Syrma Size (Radius)

Syrma radius has been calculated as being 2.76 times bigger than the Sun. The Sun's radius is 695,800km, therefore, the Syrma radius is an estimated 1,920,408.km.

Iron Abundance

Syrma Iron Abundance is -0.07 with an error value of 9.99 Fe/H, with the Sun having a value of 1 to put it into context. The value comes from the Hipparcos Extended Catalog.

Syrma Age

Syrma age according to Hipparcos data files put the star at an age of about 2 billion years old but could be between 1.9 and 2.1 billion years old. In comparison, the Sun's age is about 4.6 billion years old. The smaller star is, the more efficient it is with its fuel and so will live longer than a star which is very large.

Syrma lifespan is between 2 and 4 billion years assuming it is a typical blue to white (F Type) star.The lifespan is not peer-reviewed, just a general approximation. It is a very simplistic way at looking at a lifespan of a star. The real lifespan will be determined by the mass of the star, the more massive, the shorter the life.

Magnitude (Apparent / Absolute / Visible)

A number represents a star’s magnitude, whether apparent/visual or absolute. The smaller the number, the brighter the star is. The Sun is the brightest star and therefore has the lowest of all magnitudes, -26.74. A faint star will have a high number.

Syrma apparent magnitude is 4.07, which is a measure of the star's brightness as seen from Earth. Apparent Magnitude is also known as Visual Magnitude.

If you use the 1997 parallax value, Syrma' absolute magnitude is 2.42. If you use the 2007 parallax value, Syrma' absolute magnitude is 2.33. Absolute Magnitude is the star's apparent magnitude from 10 parsecs or 32.6 light years. The magnitude assumes nothing is between the object and the viewer, such as dust clouds. To compare different stars' actual brightness, you would best use Absolute rather than Apparent Magnitude.

Syrma is visible from Earth without needing binoculars or a telescope. The lower the Apparent Magnitude of a star or other object is, the easier it is to see in the night sky. An object with a magnitude greater than 6.5 cannot be seen without a telescope or other device.

Meteor Showers

There are 1 meteor showers that radiate from a location near Syrma during the year.

Syrma Distance from Earth

Syrma distance from Earth is 69.78 light-years away from Earth or 21.39 parsecs. If you want that in miles, it is about 410,210,478,540,752.306, based on 1 Ly = 5,878,625,373,183.61 miles. The distance is calculated using the parallax from the original Hipparcos data released in 1997 which is 46.74000.

In 2007, Hipparcos data was revised with a new parallax of 44.97000, which puts the Syrma distance from Earth as 72.53 light years or 22.24 parsecs. It should not be taken as though the star is moving closer or further away from Earth. It is purely that the distance was recalculated.

An Astronomical Unit is the distance between Earth and the Sun. The number of A.U. is the number of times that the star is from the Earth compared to the Sun. When you use the 2007 distance, Syrma is roughly 4,587,297.326 Astronomical Units from the Earth/Sun give or take a few.

Syrma Galacto-Centric Distance is 7,387 Parsecs or 24,093.686 Light Years. The Galacto-Centric Distance is the distance from the Syrma to the Centre of the Galaxy which is Sagittarius A*.

How long it will take to get to Syrma

The time it takes to travel to Syrma depends on how fast you are going. U.G. has done some calculations as to how long it will take to go at differing speeds. A note about the calculations, when I'm talking about years, I'm talking about non-leap years only (365 days).

The New Horizons space probe is the fastest one that we've sent into space at the time of writing. Its primary mission was to visit Pluto, which at the time of launch (2006), Pluto was still a planet.

Mach 1 is the speed of sound; Mach 2 is twice the speed. |Before retiring, Concorde was the fastest commercial aeroplane and the only passenger jet that could do Mach 2.

For some small screens, you may need to swipe the table to see the information. If you need an explanation, hover over the bold text. At methods are assuming you have unlimited fuel and travel at a constant speed.

  • Walking - 12,159,956,025.343
  • Car - 694,854,630.02
  • Airbus A380 - 66,086,717.529
  • Mach 1 - 63,393,443.631
  • Mach 2 - 35,923,060.636
  • New Horizons - 1,336,258.904
  • Speed of Light - 72.53

Radial Velocity and Proper Motion

In simplistic terms, all non-rogue stars, like planets, orbit around a central object, although that is actually not true. Where is the centre of the Solar System. For simplicity it's the central star, such as the Sun. In the case of a star, it's the galactic centre. The constellations we see today will be different than they were 50,000 years ago or 50,000 years from now.

Proper motion details the movements of these stars and is measured in milliarcseconds. Syrma is moving -419.38 ± 0.11 milliarcseconds/year towards the north and -26.31 ± 0.19 milliarcseconds/year east if we saw them in the horizon.

The radial velocity, the speed at which the Syrma is moving away from the Sun, is 12.51000 km/s with an error of about 0.18 km/s . When the value is negative, the star and the Sun are getting closer to one another; likewise, a positive number means that two stars are moving away. It's nothing to fear as the stars are so far apart they won't collide in our lifetime, if ever.

Syrma Fact List

The table is scrollable if you can't see everything, just swipe the table to see the hidden information.

Summary Facts

Primary Name:

Syrma

Spectral Type:

F7V

Star Type:

Main Sequence star

Colour:

yellow to white

Galaxy:

Milky Way

Constellation:

Virgo

Celestial Hemisphere:

Equatorial Region

Main Star :

Yes

Age :

2 billion years

Age Range :

1.9 - 2.1 billion years

Visual / Apparent Magnitude :

4.07

Visible From Earth :

Yes

Absolute Magnitude :

2.33

Radial Velocity :

12.51000 ± 0.18 km/s

Iron Abundance (Fe/H) :

-0.0700 ± 9.99

Eccentricity:

0.2582

Semi-Major Axis :

6111

Luminosity (Lsun) :

9.965

Effective Temp. (Kelvin):

6,168

Radius :

2.76

Location/Coordinates

Right Ascension :

14h 16m 00.88

Declination :

-05° 59` 58.3

Galactic Latitude :

51.06542435 °

Galactic Longitude :

337.74144705 °

Galacto-Centric Distance:

24,093.686 Light Years / 7,387 Parsecs

Distance from Earth


Parallax :

44.97000

Light Years :

72.53

Parsecs :

22.24

Astronomical Units (A.U.) :

4,587,297.326

Proper Motion :

(milliarcseconds/year)

Declination :

-419.38 ± 0.11

Right Ascension :

-26.31 ± 0.19


Miscellaneous Facts

B-V Index :

0.51

Alternate Names :

Iota Virginis, Iot Vir, HD 124850, TYC 4982-1645-1, HIP 69701, HR 5338, 228 G. Virginis, 99 Virginis, 99 Vir, BD -05 3843, Gliese 9473, 2MASS J14160086-600016, IRAS 14133+545, RAVE J141600.9-60002


Sources and Links

  • Modified Date: 4th February 2025
  • Published Date: Jan 2015
  • SIMBAD Source: Hipparcos Catalogue & Simbad
  • Source: Simbad, Vizier

Nearby Objects of Interest

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Virgo's Main Stars in Brightness Order



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