Constellation of the northern hemisphere.
Named after the Roman mythology hero mentioned elsewhere in this node. It
sits rather high up, between Lyra, Coronoa Borealis, Sagittarius and Scorpius
and pictures a kneeling Hercules. It is one of the largest
constellations, measuring 1225 square degrees. The constellation is at its
highest in the summer, July being the best time to see it.
Being one of the oldest recognized constellations, it's been documented to
have symbolical, value for as far back as old Babylonia. The Babylonians had
it assigned to their main god Marduk. The Greeks first called it Engonasi
("The one who kneels") but later on let Heracles name the
constellation. When drawn, it usually pictures Hercules with a lion skin and a
spear, which would symbolize parts of his 12
labors.
As for astronomical objects, there are a few interesting ones in Hercules.
The star Ras Algethi or Rasalgethi (Arabic for "kneeler's
head"), which appropriately makes up the head, is also one of the
largest stars known. This red giant star has about 600 times the diameter
of our sun. Another object that is easily seen with the naked eye is M13,
the Hercules Cluster. This is a cluster of 300,000 stars, and looks like a
undefined, hazy kind of smeared out star. M13 is about 25,000 light-years
away, making it one of the farthest objects in the Milky Way galaxy. There's
also the pulsar Hercules XI which sends out X-rays as it rotates. This
neutron star completes a revolution around its own axis every 1.2 seconds.
Hercules also has its own meteor shower shooting out of the constellation, the
Tau Herculides, which can be seen between May 19 until June 19 every year.
To find Hercules in the sky, best is to look for the bright Vega in
Lyra, high up, a little to the east in the early night. Almost straight
overhead, west of Vega, you can see the Keystone, which is the four stars
making up the torso of Hercules. And there you have it.
o O Rasalgethi
. . .
. . .
o . . .
o . .
Kornephoros O . o
. .
. O . .
o . .
. O . .
o o
. . o . . . o
O .
. .
. .
M13 X . .
. . . . .O o . . o
o
. .
.
o .
. .
. .
o
o o
See how he kneels and holds his spear ?