72 Herculis

72 Herculis is a variable and multiple hypergiant star in the constellation of Hercules.

72 Herculis visual magnitude is 5.39. Because of its reltive faintness, 72 Herculis should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 72 Herculis:

Color of 72 Herculis ⬤

Magnitude of 72 Herculis 5.39

Class Hypergiant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW 72 Herculis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 72 Herculis

72 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 72 Herculis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 17h 20m 39s

Declination J2000 +32° 28’ 04”

Galactic Longitude 55.88°

Galactic Latitude 32.31°

Constellation Hercules

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 72 Herculis in the sky:

Simplified finder chart for 72 Herculis.

Visibility of 72 Herculis from your location

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

Today's 72 Herculis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 57.5° RISE 19:57

Max altitude: 71.0° TRANSIT 5:30

Azimuth: 302.5° SET 14:59

RIGHT NOW 72 Herculis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of 72 Herculis

The image below is a photograph of 72 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 72 Herculis is 0.137 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -1.041 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of 72 Herculis. The red arrow shows the motion of 72 Herculis during the next 100 years (0.23 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.74 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 72 Herculis from the Sun and relative movement

72 Herculis is distant 46.92 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 78 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 14.39 pc

Distance (light year) 46.92 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -78 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.137 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -1.041 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 72 Herculis

72 Herculis belongs to spectral class G0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

Absolute magnitude 4.60

Spectral Type G0V

Color Index (B-V) 0.62

Temperature of 72 Herculis 5890K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 72 Herculis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of 72 Herculis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

72 Herculis star system properties

72 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 72 Herculis double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 5.39

Secondary star magnitude 10.49

Magnitude difference 5.1

Separation 230 arcsec

Alternative designations of 72 Herculis

Flamsteed designation 72 Herculis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD157214

SAO Catalogue SAO65963

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP84862

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+32 2896

Gliese Catalogue Gl 672

FK5 Catalogue 1456

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 8553

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS10488

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Other stars in Hercules