The constellation of Hercules, the Hero // E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani
Click below to read about this large constellation and some of the named stars here. There's also an annotated image below the cut!
Hercules, named after the Greek hero Heracles, is one of the original 48 constellations laid down by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. This is the fifth-largest modern constellation!
Although today we associate it with the Greek hero Heracles, it was not always thus. The Babylonians saw it as the "Standing Gods," depicted as a man with a serpent's body. Early Greek myths call this constellation "the Kneeler."
Eventually, myths solidified to see this figure as Heracles, perhaps about to start his fight against the dragon of the Hesperides, represented by nearby Draco. Still others saw it as Theseus or Orpheus.
The named stars are, in order of brightness:
Kornephoros (β Herculis), a binary star about 139 light years from Earth. The primary star is a yellow giant star. Its name comes from the Greek word κορυνηφόρος meaning "club-bearer."
Sarin (δ Herculis) is another binary star, this one about 75 light years away. The primary star is a blue-white giant star. This star was given this name by the Czech astronomer Antonín Bečvář, although we don't know what it means.
Rasalgethi (α Herculis) is a triple star system lying about 360 light years away. The three stars are a red supergiant, a yellow giant, and a blue-white giant star. The name comes from the Arabic phrase ra‘is al-jāthī meaning "head of the kneeler."
Tusizuo (109 Herculis) is a solitary star about 121 light years away. It is an orange giant star. Its name comes from Chinese astronomy: Tú Sì (屠肆) meaning "butcher's shop." Together with Bodu and Ramus, it forms the obsolete constellation Cerberus.
Bodu (95 Herculis) is a double star consisting of a blue-white giant and a yellow giant, offering a nice contrasting color pair. The system lies about 432 light years away. Its name comes from Chinese astronomy: Bó Dù (帛度) meaning "textile ruler." Together with Tusizuo and Ramus, it forms the obsolete constellation Cerberus.
Ramus (102 Herculis) is a solitary star about 920 light years away. It is a blue giant star. Its name refers to an obsolete constellation, Ramus Pomifer, Latin for "apple branch," a branch held in Hercules' left hand.
Maasym (λ Herculis) is a single orange giant star about 393 light years from Earth. Its name comes from the Arabic word miʽṣam meaning "wrist."
Cujam (ω Herculis) is a binary star system about 250 light years from Earth. The primary star is a blue-white giant star. Its name comes from the Latin word caiam meaning "club."
Marsic (κ Herculis) is a double star about 390 light years from Earth. This is not a true binary system, but rather an optical pairing of a yellow giant and an orange dwarf. The name comes from the Arabic Al-Mirfaq meaning "the elbow."
Ogma (HD 149026) is a yellow Sun-like star about 249 light years from Earth. It has one planet orbiting it, about a third the mass of Jupiter, named Smertrios. Both names were were given by the people of France: Ogma refers to Ogmios, a Gallo-Roman deity of eloquence, and Smertrios is a Gallic deity of war.
Hunor (HD 147506) is a yellow-white star about 419 light years away. It has two planets orbiting it, the closer of them named Magor, having about 9 times the mass of Jupiter. Both names were given by the people of Hungary: Hunor was a legendary ancestor of the Huns and the brother of Magor.
Irena (HD 146389) is a yellow-white star about 445 light years away. It has one confirmed planet orbiting it, about 2.5 times the mass of Jupiter, named Iztok. Both names were given by the people of Slovenia: both are characters from the Slovenian novel Pod svobodnim soncem.
Franz (HAT-P-14) is a yellow-white star about 731 light years away. It has one confirmed planet orbiting it, about 2.5 times the mass of Jupiter, named Sissi. Both names were chosen by the people of Austria: both are characters from the Austrian romance movie Sissi.
Pipoltr (V1434 Herculis) is a Sun-like star about 757 light years away. It has one confirmed planet orbiting it, about twice the mass of Jupiter, named Umbäässa. Both names were chosen by the people of Liechtenstein: Pipoltr is a bright butterfly, while Umbäässa is a barely visible ant.
