τ Herculis (tau Herculis)
τ Herculis is a variable and double sub-giant star in the constellation of Hercules.
τ Herculis visual magnitude is 3.89. Because of its moderate brightness, τ Herculis should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.
The proper motion of τ Herculis is -0.011 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.04 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.
Key facts about τ Herculis
τ Herculis (tau Herculis) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
Altitude: 62.1°
Azimuth: 276.3°
Direction: West
Celestial coordinates and finder chart of τ Herculis
τ Herculis is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of τ Herculis are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of τ Herculis in the sky:
Visibility of τ Herculis from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
τ Herculis (tau Herculis) is circumpolar and transits at 00:50 UTC (altitude: 84.8°)
Distance of τ Herculis from the Sun and relative movement
τ Herculis is distant 314.37 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 14 kilometers per second.
Spectral properties of τ Herculis
τ Herculis belongs to spectral class B5 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where τ Herculis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
τ Herculis star system properties
τ Herculis is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the τ Herculis double sysyem: