Star profile
42 Herculis
Cool red starWhat is 42 Herculis
42 Herculis is an M-type red giant 414 light-years away, one of dozens of cool, swollen stars dotting the classical figure of Hercules. Its atmosphere barely reaches 3,500 degrees, hence that deep red that sets it apart from the youthful blues of neighbouring constellations. It shines this way because it has already crossed the final threshold of its evolution and ballooned its envelope to hundreds of solar diameters.
Where it is and when to see it
42 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 42 Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.86
- Distance
- 414.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 249.687° · Dec 48.928°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81497 · HD 150450
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- 52 Herculis4.82
- 30 Herculis4.83
- 29 Herculis4.84
- 60 Herculis4.89
- 106 Herculis4.92