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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Hercules » 

68 Herculis

Altitude: -4.3°   Azimuth: 347.0°   Direction: North-North-West

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:

4.82
Main-sequence

68 Herculis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -4.3°
Azimuth: 347.0°
Direction: North-North-West

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:

17h 17m 19s
+33° 06’ 00”
56.4°
33.14°
Hercules

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

Finder chart 68 Herculis star
Simplified finder chart for 68 Herculis.

Visibility of 68 Herculis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
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 edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 56.9°
Max altitude: 71.6°
Azimuth: 303.1°

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.

Image of 68 Herculis star
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.

265.25 pc
864.72 ly
-21 km/s
-0.008 arcsec/year
-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.

-2.30
B1V
12902K

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

HR 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:

4.82
9.92
5.1
4.4 arcsec

Alternative designations of 68 Herculis

68 Herculis
SAO65913
SAO65913