Star profile
106 Herculis
Cool red starWhat is 106 Herculis
106 Herculis belongs to the rarer kind among naked-eye stars: the cool red giants of class M, exhausted suns that have swollen and cooled after burning through their central hydrogen. Its reddish tint is subtle but unmistakable to a trained eye, set in the northern reaches of Hercules, away from the hero’s main body. Its light spans almost four centuries before reaching us.
Where it is and when to see it
106 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 60° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 71° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 34° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 68° S.
It ranks no. 37 in brightness among the 136 stars of Hercules in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kornephoros, the brightest: it lies about 26° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 390 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on 106 Herculis
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
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 106 Herculis
- Constellation
- Hercules
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.92
- Distance
- 392.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 275.075° · Dec 21.961°
- Catalogue
- HIP 89861 · HD 168720
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
- 29 Herculis4.84
- 42 Herculis4.86
- 60 Herculis4.89
- 98 Herculis4.96
- 104 Herculis4.96