Beta Virginis is the fifth brightest star in the constellation Virgo, at magnitude 3.61. It has traditional name Zavijava (Zavijah, Zavyava, Zawijah) from the Arabic "zawiyat al-cawwa'", meaning "Corner of the barking (dog)". Another name was Alaraph. The name Zavijava was originally applied to Gamma Virginis (now called Porrima), which makes a sharp bend in a string of stars (ε, δ, γ, η, and β Virginis) northwest of Spica. This string was called "awwa" by the Arabs, and refers to a kennel or a barking dog, though the meaning is disputed.
Since β Vir is close to the ecliptic, it can be occulted by the Moon, and very rarely by planets. The next planetary occultation of Zavijava will take place on 11 August 2069 by Venus. This was the star Einstein used during the solar eclipse of September 21, 1922 to determine the speed of light in space, as it fell close to the Sun.
Properties
Zavijava is also not terribly luminous; its modest apparent brightness owes to its closeness, only 36 light years away. A class F9 V main-sequence star, β Vir bears more resemblance to the Sun than to its constellation-mates. It radiates 3.5 solar luminosities from a 6150 K surface. These parameters imply a radius 1.65 times the Sun's, and a mass just 25% over solar. Age estimates range between 2.8 and 4.7 billion years. The star rotates with an equatorial speed of at least 3 km/sec, and a period up to a very sunlike 28 days.
Zavijava is metal-rich, its iron content 30% higher than solar. It is also moving at a modest speed of 41 km/sec, roughly double that of most local stars. Unlike the Sun, β Vir seems to possess relatively little magnetic activity. While X- ray emission supports the existence of a hot magnetically-heated corona, no magnetic field has actually been measured, nor is there any evidence for a sunlike chromosphere, the thin layer of hot gas that lies between the Sun's surface and the outer coronal halo.
[Adapted from STARS by Jim Kaler, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Illinois]