Star profile
68 Herculis
Variable starWhat is 68 Herculis
68 Herculis is a blue variable star that pulses slowly within the body of Hercules, the kneeling hero of the northern sky. Its brightness shifts over time, a trait common to hot B-type giants stirred by violent internal processes. Its light crosses more than six hundred and sixty-five years before touching Earth; it set out at a time when telescopes did not yet exist and astronomy depended entirely on the human eye.
Where it is and when to see it
68 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 June: 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 68 Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.80
- Distance
- 665.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 259.332° · Dec 33.100°
- Catalogue
- HIP 84573 · HD 156633
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
- 69 Herculis4.64
- 93 Herculis4.67
- Upsilon Herculis4.72
- 52 Herculis4.82
- 30 Herculis4.83