23Hercules, The Hero

NAME: Hercules (HUR-cue-leez)

SEASON: Early summer

CULMINATION: midnight, 13 June

ABBREVIATION: Her

GENITIVE: Herculis (HUR-cue-lis)

NEIGHBORS: Aql, Boo, CrB, Dra, Lyr, Oph, Ser, Sge, Vul

BINOCULAR OBJECTS: NGC 6205 (M 13), NGC 6341 (M 92)

URBAN OBJECTS: NGC 6205 (M 13), NGC 6210, NGC 6341 (M 92)

Hercules is a large, bright, mid-northerly constellation, ranking 5th in size among the 88 constellations. It covers 1,225 square degrees of the celestial sphere, or about 3.0%.

Hercules is the Roman name for Herakles, the greatest Hero of Greek mythology. The son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmena, Herakles drew the ire of the jealous goddess Hera, wife of Zeus. When Herakles was still an infant, Hera sent two venomous serpents ...

Get Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.