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A W Virginis variable is a variable star
Variable star

A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth....
 similar to a Cepheid variable
Cepheid variable

A Cepheid variable or Cepheid is a member of a particular class of variable stars, notable for a fairly tight correlation between their period of Radial pulsations and absolute luminosity....
. However, using the formula for W Virginis variables to calculate distance of a Cepheid variable will yield a value that is too small, a mistake that Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble

Edwin Powell Hubble was an United States Astronomy. He profoundly changed astronomers' understanding of the nature of the universe by demonstrating the existence of other galaxies besides the Milky Way....
 made while observing M31
Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda . It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way Galaxy....
.

W Virginis stars differ from Cepheids because they are Population II stars and so have a lower metallicity
Metallicity

In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium....
 than our Sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
. Their luminosity is, on average, less than classical Cepheids by about 1.5 magnitudes
Absolute magnitude

In astronomy, absolute magnitude measures a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. To derive the absolute magnitude from the observed apparent magnitude of a celestial object its value is corrected for distance to the observer....
.






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A W Virginis variable is a variable star
Variable star

A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth....
 similar to a Cepheid variable
Cepheid variable

A Cepheid variable or Cepheid is a member of a particular class of variable stars, notable for a fairly tight correlation between their period of Radial pulsations and absolute luminosity....
. However, using the formula for W Virginis variables to calculate distance of a Cepheid variable will yield a value that is too small, a mistake that Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble

Edwin Powell Hubble was an United States Astronomy. He profoundly changed astronomers' understanding of the nature of the universe by demonstrating the existence of other galaxies besides the Milky Way....
 made while observing M31
Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda . It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way Galaxy....
.

W Virginis stars differ from Cepheids because they are Population II stars and so have a lower metallicity
Metallicity

In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium....
 than our Sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
. Their luminosity is, on average, less than classical Cepheids by about 1.5 magnitudes
Absolute magnitude

In astronomy, absolute magnitude measures a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. To derive the absolute magnitude from the observed apparent magnitude of a celestial object its value is corrected for distance to the observer....
. The period varies between 1 and 60 days.

W Virginis stars are also called Type II Cepheids.