68 Herculis

68 Herculis is a variable and double main-sequence star in the constellation of Hercules.

68 Herculis visual magnitude is 4.82. Because of its moderate brightness, 68 Herculis should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 68 Herculis:

Color of 68 Herculis ⬤

Magnitude of 68 Herculis 4.82

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW 68 Herculis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 46°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 68 Herculis

68 Herculis is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 68 Herculis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 17h 17m 19s

Declination J2000 +33° 06’ 00”

Galactic Longitude 56.4°

Galactic Latitude 33.14°

Constellation Hercules

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 68 Herculis in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for 68 Herculis.

Visibility of 68 Herculis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 68 Herculis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 56.9° RISE 19:38

Max altitude: 71.6° TRANSIT 5:19

Azimuth: 303.1° SET 14:56

RIGHT NOW 68 Herculis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of 68 Herculis

The image below is a photograph of 68 Herculis from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 68 Herculis is -0.008 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.003 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of 68 Herculis. The red arrow shows the motion of 68 Herculis during the next 100000 years (-13.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -5.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 68 Herculis from the Sun and relative movement

68 Herculis is distant 864.72 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 21 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 265.25 pc

Distance (light year) 864.72 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -21 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.008 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.003 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 68 Herculis

68 Herculis belongs to spectral class B1 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude -2.30

Spectral Type B1V

Color Index (B-V) -0.17

Temperature of 68 Herculis 12902K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 68 Herculis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of 68 Herculis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

68 Herculis star system properties

68 Herculis is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of small or medium telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 68 Herculis double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 4.82

Secondary star magnitude 9.92

Magnitude difference 5.1

Separation 4.4 arcsec

Alternative designations of 68 Herculis

Flamsteed designation 68 Herculis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD156633

SAO Catalogue SAO65913

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP84573

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+33 2864

General Catalogue of Variable Stars u Her

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS10449

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In Evidence

Other stars in Hercules