ζ Herculis (zeta Herculis)
ζ Herculis is a variable and double hypergiant star in the constellation of Hercules.
ζ Herculis visual magnitude is 2.81. Thanks to its high brightness, ζ Herculis is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.
The table below summarizes the key facts about ζ Herculis:
Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ζ Herculis
ζ 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 ζ Herculis are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of ζ Herculis in the sky:
Visibility of ζ Herculis from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's ζ Herculis (zeta Herculis) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Digitized Sky Survey image of ζ Herculis
The image below is a photograph of ζ 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 ζ Herculis is -0.47 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.394 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.
Distance of ζ Herculis from the Sun and relative movement
ζ Herculis is distant 35.19 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 70 kilometers per second.
Spectral properties of ζ Herculis
ζ Herculis belongs to spectral class G0 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a hypergiant star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where ζ Herculis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
ζ Herculis star system properties
ζ Herculis is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the ζ Herculis double sysyem: