Star profile
Mu Herculis
Nearby starWhat is Mu Herculis
Mu Herculis is a near neighbour, just 27 light-years away — a yellow subgiant cousin to the Sun, slightly older and more swollen. It is a multiple system: a pair of red dwarfs accompany it in a slow orbit, visible even through modest telescopes as two reddish sparks beside the primary. A domestic arrangement, on a stellar scale, that invites the thought of three suns lifting on the same dawn.
Where it is and when to see it
Mu 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 66° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 28° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 62° S.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 136 stars of Hercules in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kornephoros, the brightest: it lies about 18° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 27 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Mu Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.42
- Distance
- 27.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 266.615° · Dec 27.721°
- Catalogue
- HIP 86974 · HD 161797
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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
- SarinDelta Herculis3.12
- Pi Herculis3.16
- Eta Herculis3.48
- Xi Herculis3.70
- Gamma Herculis3.74