Letting your eyes adjust…

Rasalgethi

in HerculesOpen

OpenCommon

Rasalgethi

α¹ Her in Hercules

Once ignited, 20% of its creator fees go to the Starlight Fund, which pays for a real telescope photo of Rasalgethi.

#113 brightest in our sky; really 50× Sun. 50× wider than the Sun. It looks modest only because it’s so far away (~360 ly). It’s a giant.

Rasalgethi and the Sun, true relative size.

Survey image. Digitized Sky Survey (DSS2) plate, 42′ across, via CDS hips2fits. Bright stars bloom on photographic plates. Not a Starlight Fund observation.

Apparent magnitude: 2.78 (varies)
Brightness rank: #113 brightest
Luminosity: 818× Sun
Width: 50× Sun
Surface temperature: 4400 K · M
Distance: 360 ly
Right ascension: 17h 15m
Declination: +14.4°

Sources: IAU WGSN name, HYG database, HIP 84345. Width is derived from luminosity and temperature, so it is approximate.

Also in Hercules

Kornephoros
Sarin
Maasym
Cujam
Marsic
Ogma
Hunor
Irena

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