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Hercules (abbr. Her, gen. Herculis)
A mythical hero famed for his 12 labors; a very large but unspectacular northern constellation. It contains the Keystone asterism, named after its shape, which is made by four of the main stars in Hercules – Epsilon, Zeta (Ruticulus), Eta, and Pi Her. See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars and interesting deep sky objects.
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| Hercules. © 2003 Torsten Bronger. Copied here under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star | Visual mag. |
Abs. mag. |
Spectral type |
Distance (lt-yr) |
R.A. (h m s) | Dec. ( ° ' '' ) |
| Beta (Kornephorus) | 2.78 | -0.50 | G8IIIa | 148 | 16 30 13 | +21 29 22 |
| Zeta (Rutilicus) | 2.81 | 2.64 | F9IV | 35 | 16 41 17 | +31 36 10 |
| Alpha (Rasalgethi) | 3.00 | -0.02 | M5Ib-II | 382 | 17 14 39 | +14 23 25 |
| Delta (Sarin) | 3.12 | 1.21 | A3IV | 79 | 17 15 02 | +24 50 21 |
| Pi | 3.16 | -2.10 | K3IIab | 367 | 17 15 03 | +36 48 33 |
| Mu | 3.42 | 3.80 | G5IV | 27 | 17 46 27 | +27 43 15 |
| Nu | 3.48 | 0.80 | G8II | 112 | 16 42 54 | +38 55 20 |
| Xi | 3.70 | 0.20 | G8III | 163 | 17 57 46 | +29 14 52 |
| Gamma | 3.70 | 0.61 | K0III | 135 | 16 21 55 | +19 09 11 |
| Iota | 3.82 | -2.09 | B3V | 495 | 17 39 28 | +46 00 23 |
| Omicron | 3.84 | -1.30 | B9.5V | 347 | 18 07 32 | +28 45 45 |
| 109 | 3.85 | 0.87 | K2.5IIIab | 128 | 18 23 42 | +21 46 11 |
| Theta | 3.86 | -2.70 | K1IIaCN | 670 | 17 56 15 | +37 15 02 |
| Tau | 3.91 | -1.02 | B5IV | 315 | 16 19 44 | +46 18 48 |
| Epsilon | 3.92 | 0.43 | A0V | 163 | 17 00 17 | +30 55 35 |
| Other objects of interest | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Type of Object | Notes |
| Hercules X-1 | star | See separate entry |
| NGC 6210 | planetary nebula | A bright inner ring surrounded by a faint outer ring. Magnitude 9.7; diameter 13" × 20" (inner), 20" × 43" (outer); R.A. 16h 44.5m, Dec. +23° 49' |
| Great Cluster in Hercules | globular cluster | M13 (NGC 6205). See separate entry |
| M92 (NGC 6341) | globular cluster | NGC 5139. See separate entry |
| Constellations |
| Andromeda | Antlia | Apus | Aquarius | Aquila | Ara | Aries | Auriga | Bootes | Caelum | Camelopardalis | Cancer | Canes Venatici | Canis Major | Canis Minor | Capricornus | Carina | Cassiopeia | Centaurus | Cepheus | Cetus | Chamaeleon | Circinus | Columba | Coma Berenices | Corona Austrina | Corona Borealis | Corvus | Crater | Crux | Cygnus | Delphinus | Dorado | Draco | Equuleus | Eridanus | Fornax | Gemini | Grus | Hercules | Horologium | Hydra | Hydrus | Indus | Lacerta | Leo | Leo Minor | Lepus | Libra | Lupus | Lynx | Lyra | Mensa | Microscopium | Monoceros | Musca | Norma | Octans | Ophiuchus | Orion | Pavo | Pegasus | Perseus | Phoenix | Pictor | Pisces | Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Reticulum | Sagitta | Sagittarius | Scorpius | Sculptor | Scutum | Serpens | Sextans | Taurus | Telescopium | Triangulum | Triangulum Australe | Tucana | Ursa Major | Ursa Minor | Vela | Virgo | Volans | Vulpecula |
Related categories
• NOTABLE STARS
• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
• GALAXIES
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