HERCULES

Hercules rises on its side, the constellation framed by a string of three stars that run from left to right just above center together with three more below. The 4-star "Keystone" is to the left. From the upper left-hand corner clockwise, its stars are Eta, Zeta, Epsilon, and Pi. The famed globular cluster Messier 13 glows just to the right of Eta. Rasalgethi (Alpha), "the Kneeler's Head," is the reddish star near the lower right-hand corner. Kornephoros (Beta), the brightest star in the constellation, is just above right center, while Gamma is just up and to the right of Kornophoros. Delta is down and to the right of center, while Rho is just down and to the left of Pi. Mu is at bottom center, with Masym (Lambda) between it and Delta. 30 Her is the fainter of the two stars up and to the left of M 13. Tau is near the upper left corner, while Phi is up and to the right of it, at the picture's edge. Below Mu in eastern Hercules you can find the odd star 89 Herculis and the binary 95 Herculis. Marsic (Kappa) is the brighter of the close pair up and to the right of Gamma, near the upper right corner; the fainter is 8 Her, while 10 is to the left and a bit up from them. 68 Her is the upper of the two stars to the right of Rho. Iota, Chi, 2, and X Her are off the picture to the upper left, in northwestern Hercules, closer to the classic figure of Draco. Omega Her, in southern Hercules, is off the picture to the right, where it appears among the stars of Ophiuchus and Serpens. Eastern Coronae Borealis lies toward the top of the picture. Nu, Xi, Omicron, and 99 Herculis lie off the bottom of the picture close to Lyra.

To see a labelled image, push the star:

See the full resolution image.

Go to eastern and northern Hercules.

Hercules has a star with an orbiting PLANET.

See Hercules in context with Lyra, Ophiuchus, and Draco and with Ophiuches and Serpens.

See Hercules from Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.

For more on Hercules, see Heroic Stars at Stellar Stories.

By Jim Kaler. Return to STARS.