Star profile

5 Herculis

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is 5 Herculis

5 Herculis is a yellow G-type star —a spectral cousin of the Sun— set some 251 light-years away in the outer limbs of the mythological titan. The ESA Gaia mission has measured its parallax with such accuracy that we know its distance to a vanishing margin. Its light began its journey around 1775, when telescopes could barely tell its spectral class apart.

Where it is and when to see it

5 Herculis lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 56° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 67° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 38° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 72° S.

It ranks no. 48 in brightness among the 136 stars of Hercules in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kornephoros, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 250 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 5 Herculis

Constellation: Hercules
Apparent magnitude: 5.10
Distance: 250.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 240.310° · Dec 17.818°
Catalogue: HIP 78481 · HD 143666

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Other stars in Hercules

Hercules has 136 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 136 stars in Hercules