Hercules (constellation) Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

Hercules
'Abbreviation	Her
Genitive	Herculi
Meaning in English	Heracles, the hero
Right ascension	17 h
Declination	+30°
Visible to latitude	Between +90° and −50°
Best visible	July
Area  - Total	Ranked 5th 1225 sq.deg.
Number of stars with apparent magnitude < 3	0
Brightest star  - Apparent magnitude	Ras Algethi (α Her) 3.1m (var.)
Meteor showers	Tau Herculids
Bordering constellations	Draco Boötes Corona Borealis Serpens Caput Ophiuchus Aquila Sagitta Vulpecula Lyra

Named after the Roman version of the Greek mythological hero Heracles, Hercules is the fifth largest of the 88 modern constellations. It was also one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations.

Table of contents

1 Notable features 2 Notable deep sky objects 3 Mythology 4 Graphic visualization 5 Reference

Notable features

It has no first magnitude stars. Mu Herculis is 27.4 light years from Earth.

Notable deep sky objects

Hercules contains two of the most conspicuous globular clusters: M13, the brightest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere, and M92.

Mythology

Hercules (Roman, Heracles in Greek mythology) was the demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene. He was, arguably, the greatest of the mythical Greek heroes, best known for his superhuman strength. Many stories are told of his life, including the story of The Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Graphic visualization

The stars of the constellation Hercules can be connected in an alternative way, which graphically shows the hero in an athletic pose and holding a club.

The hero's head is traced by a quadrangle of stars: Pi Herculis, Eta Herculis, Zeta Herculis and Epsilon Herculis. This quadrangle lies between two very bright stars: Vega on the constellation Lyra and Gemma on the constellation Corona Borealis.

The hero's right leg contains two bright stars of the third magnitude: Alpha Herculis (a.k.a. Ras Algethi) and Delta Herculis (a.k.a. Sarin). Delta Herculis is the right knee.

The hero's left leg contains dimmer stars of the fourth magnitude which do not have Bayer designations but which do have Flamsteed numbers.

The star Beta Herculis belongs to the hero's outstretched right hand, and is also called Kornephoros.

The Globular Cluster M13 lies on the top of the hero's head, between the stars Eta Herculis and Zeta Herculis. It is dim, but may be detected by the unaided eye on a very clear night.

Reference

• H. A. Rey, The Stars — A New Way To See Them. Enlarged World-Wide Edition. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1997. ISBN 0-395-24830-2.

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