Star profile
Omicron Herculis
Variable starWhat is Omicron Herculis
Omicron Herculis is a blue-white B-type star wearing a veil of gas —a Be shell star, as spectroscopists class it. It spins so violently that material flings outward into an equatorial disc whose density ebbs and flows across the years. At 338 light-years, its brightness varies subtly as that disc grows and dissolves.
Where it is and when to see it
Omicron 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 67° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 78° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 27° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 61° S.
It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 136 stars of Hercules in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kornephoros, the brightest: it lies about 23° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 340 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Omicron Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.84
- Distance
- 338.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 271.886° · Dec 28.762°
- Catalogue
- HIP 88794 · HD 166014
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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
- Xi Herculis3.70
- Gamma Herculis3.74
- Iota Herculis3.82
- 109 Herculis3.85
- Theta Herculis3.86