70 Virginis facts for kids
70 Virginis is a fascinating star located far away from our Earth. It's a type of star called a yellow dwarf. This means it's similar to our own Sun, but not quite as big or as hot. Imagine looking up at the night sky! This star is found in the constellation known as Virgo.
What is 70 Virginis?
70 Virginis is a yellow dwarf star. This type of star is like our Sun. However, 70 Virginis is not as big or as hot as the Sun. It is about 58 light-years away from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. That's a very long way! You can find this star in the constellation Virgo.
Its Planet: 70 Virginis b
In 1996, scientists made an exciting discovery. They found a planet orbiting 70 Virginis. This planet is called an extrasolar planet, or exoplanet. An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun. This planet, 70 Virginis b, was one of the first exoplanets ever found. It orbits its star, just like Earth orbits the Sun.
The Dust Disc Around 70 Virginis
Besides the planet, there is also a large disc of dust orbiting 70 Virginis. This dust disc is like a giant ring of tiny particles. It circles the star at a distance of about 3.4 AU. An Astronomical Unit (AU) is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. So, this dust disc is a bit further from 70 Virginis than Mars is from our Sun. The temperature of this dust disc is very cold, about 156 K. That's much colder than freezing water!
See also
In Spanish: 70 Virginis para niños
