ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis)

ε Herculis is a hypergiant star in the constellation of Hercules.

ε Herculis visual magnitude is 3.92. Because of its moderate brightness, ε 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 ε Herculis:

Color of ε Herculis ⬤

Magnitude of ε Herculis 3.92

Class Hypergiant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt. Altitude: 31°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ε Herculis

ε 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 ε Herculis are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 17h 00m 17s

Declination J2000 +30° 55’ 35”

Galactic Longitude 52.85°

Galactic Latitude 36.17°

Constellation Hercules

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

Finder chart ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis) star

Simplified finder chart for ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis).

Visibility of ε 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 ε Herculis (epsilon 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: 59.1° RISE 16:15

Max altitude: 69.4° TRANSIT 1:31

Azimuth: 300.9° SET 10:43

RIGHT NOW ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of ε Herculis

The image below is a photograph of ε 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 ε Herculis is -0.047 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.028 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ε Herculis (epsilon Herculis) star

DSS2 image of ε Herculis. The red arrow shows the motion of ε Herculis during the next 10000 years (-7.83 arcmin in Right Ascension and 4.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of ε Herculis from the Sun and relative movement

ε Herculis is distant 162.67 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 25 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 49.90 pc

Distance (light year) 162.67 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -25 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.047 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.028 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ε Herculis

ε Herculis belongs to spectral class A0 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a hypergiant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.43

Spectral Type A0V

Color Index (B-V) -0.01

Temperature of ε Herculis 10252K

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

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

Alternative designations of ε Herculis

Bayer designation ε Herculis
(epsilon Herculis)

Flamsteed designation 58 Herculis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD153808

SAO Catalogue SAO65716

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP83207

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD+31 2947

FK5 Catalogue 634

In Evidence

Other stars in Hercules