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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: 7:48  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Hercules » 

ρ Herculis (rho Herculis)

Altitude: 71.0°   Azimuth: 228.1°   Direction: South-West

ρ Herculis is a variable and multiple giant star in the constellation of Hercules.

ρ Herculis visual magnitude is 4.52. Because of its moderate brightness, ρ 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 ρ Herculis:

4.52
Giant

ρ Herculis (rho Herculis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 71.0°
Azimuth: 228.1°
Direction: South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ρ Herculis

ρ 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 ρ Herculis are provided in the following table:

17h 23m 40s
+37° 08’ 44”
61.44°
32.71°
Hercules

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

Finder chart ρ Herculis (rho Herculis) star
Simplified finder chart for ρ Herculis (rho Herculis).

Visibility of ρ 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 ρ Herculis (rho 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: 52.9°
Max altitude: 75.7°
Azimuth: 307.1°

Digitized Sky Survey image of ρ Herculis

The image below is a photograph of ρ 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 ρ Herculis is -0.037 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.006 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ρ Herculis (rho Herculis) star
DSS2 image of ρ Herculis. The red arrow shows the motion of ρ Herculis during the next 10000 years (-6.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and 1.00 arcmin in declination);

Spectral properties of ρ Herculis

ρ Herculis belongs to spectral class B9 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

B9III
10516K

ρ Herculis star system properties

ρ 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 ρ Herculis double sysyem:

4.52
5.52
1
4.2 arcsec

Alternative designations of ρ Herculis

ρ Herculis
(rho Herculis)
75 Herculis
SAO66001
SAO66001