Star profile
Upsilon Herculis
Hot blue starWhat is Upsilon Herculis
Upsilon Herculis is a blue-white star burning some three hundred and seventy light-years away, in the body of the kneeling hero. Its surface comfortably exceeds ten thousand degrees, giving it a tone that stands out cleanly against the golden backdrop of the nearby globular cluster M13. The light now reaching Earth left when the Low Countries were beginning their pictorial golden age.
Where it is and when to see it
Upsilon 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 April, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 85° up.
- From New York it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 44° S.
It ranks no. 30 in brightness among the 136 stars of Hercules in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kornephoros, the brightest: it lies about 25° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 370 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Upsilon Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.72
- Distance
- 371.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 240.700° · Dec 46.037°
- Catalogue
- HIP 78592 · HD 144206
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Other stars in Hercules
Hercules has 136 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- KornephorosBeta Herculis2.78
- RasalgethiAlpha 1 Herculis2.78
- Zeta Herculis2.81
- Chi Herculis4.60
- 69 Herculis4.64
- 93 Herculis4.67
- 68 Herculis4.80
- 52 Herculis4.82