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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: 7:43  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:52 south
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All Constellations » Hercules » 

χ Herculis (chi Herculis)

Altitude: 15.8°   Azimuth: 39.6°   Direction: North-East

χ Herculis is a main-sequence star in the constellation of Hercules.

χ Herculis visual magnitude is 4.62. Because of its moderate brightness, χ 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 χ Herculis:

4.62
Main-sequence

χ Herculis (chi Herculis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 15.8°
Azimuth: 39.6°
Direction: North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of χ Herculis

χ 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 χ Herculis are provided in the following table:

15h 52m 40s
+42° 27’ 06”
67.68°
50.33°
Hercules

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

Finder chart χ Herculis (chi Herculis) star
Simplified finder chart for χ Herculis (chi Herculis).

Visibility of χ Herculis from your location

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

χ Herculis (chi Herculis) is circumpolar and transits at 11:08 UTC (altitude: 81.0°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of χ Herculis

The image below is a photograph of χ 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 χ Herculis is 0.44 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.632 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of χ Herculis (chi Herculis) star
DSS2 image of χ Herculis. The red arrow shows the motion of χ Herculis during the next 1000 years (7.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 10.53 arcmin in declination);

Distance of χ Herculis from the Sun and relative movement

χ Herculis is distant 51.68 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 55 kilometers per second.

15.85 pc
51.68 ly
-55 km/s
0.44 arcsec/year
0.632 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of χ Herculis

χ Herculis belongs to spectral class F8 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

3.62
F8V
6129K

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

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

Alternative designations of χ Herculis

χ Herculis
(chi Herculis)
SAO45772
SAO45772