Star profile

Cujam

Omega Herculis · Hercules

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Cujam

Cujam is a hot B-type star in the constellation of Hercules, lying 250 light-years away, slightly variable. Its name derives from the medieval Latin «cuiacum», a kind of sword or short weapon attributed to the hero in Renaissance astronomical engravings. Hercules occupies a vast stretch of the northern sky kneeling and exhausted after his twelve labours — according to the oldest reading of the figure, predating even the Greco-Latin tradition that turned it into heroic glory.

Where it is and when to see it

Cujam 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 53° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 63° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 42° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 76° S.

It ranks no. 25 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 Cujam

Constellation: Hercules
Apparent magnitude: 4.57
Distance: 250.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 246.354° · Dec 14.033°
Catalogue: HIP 80463 · HD 148112

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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