Mu Herculis, a yellow subgiant star in Hercules
Mu Herculis is a yellow subgiant star in the constellation Hercules. At 27 light years away, it is the 266th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.42.
Mu Herculis (HIP 86974)
Mu Herculis is a yellow subgiant star in the constellation Hercules. At 27 light years away, it is the 266th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.42. Mu Herculis is the primary component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Mu Herculis is +0.23 (169.8% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 36.2 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 16,700 and 25,400 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 17h 46.5m, Dec +27° 43.2'
Common designations: Mu Herculis, 86 Herculis, HIP 86974, HD 161797, HR 6623, Gliese 695 A
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Brightest stars in Hercules:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 2.78 | Kornephoros |
| 2 | 2.78 | Rasalgethi |
| 3 | 2.81 | Zeta Herculis |
| 4 | 3.12 | Sarin |
| 5 | 3.16 | Pi Herculis |
6
| 3.42
) Mu Herculis
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 7 | 3.48 | Eta Herculis |
| 8 | 3.70 | Xi Herculis |
| 9 | 3.74 | Gamma Herculis |
| 10 | 3.82 | Iota Herculis |
| 11 | 3.84 | Omicron Herculis |
| 12 | 3.85 | 109 Herculis |
| 13 | 3.86 | Theta Herculis |
| 14 | 3.91 | Tau Herculis |
| 15 | 3.92 | Epsilon Herculis |
| 16 | 4.15 | Rho Herculis |
| 17 | 4.19 | 110 Herculis |
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Galactic Orbit of Mu Herculis
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 20.6% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 142.1°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 6,468 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 6,330 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 1,330 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 6,195 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 5,138 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,799 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Mu Herculis
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 266.61549530° ±0.09 mas | -310.30 ±0.40 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 27.72249916° ±0.12 mas | -750.30 ±0.40 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 52.44075850° | -810.10 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 25.62609702° | 54.54 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 120.33 ± 0.16 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: G5IV 2001AJ....121.2148G.
Radial Velocity: -17.00 ±0.21 km/s [A rating] 2002ApJS..141..503N.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
0.23 ±0.01 dex
2011A&A...525A..71W, 2008A&A...480...91S, 2007A&A...465..271R, 2006AJ....131.3069L, 2005PASJ...57...27T, 2005ApJS..161..444T, 2005ApJS..159..141V, 2005AJ....129.1063L, 2004A&A...420..183A, 2003ARep...47..422M, 2000Priv.C........F, 1998A&A...338..623M, 1998A&A...338..161F, 1990ApJS...74.1075M.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 4.17 | 4.57 |
| V | 3.42 | 3.82 |
| R | 2.90 | 3.30 |
| I | 2.60 | 3.00 |
| J | 1.87 | 2.27 |
| H | 1.56 | 1.96 |
| K | 1.51 | 1.91 |
B-V: +0.75 V-I: +0.82
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 8.31 pc (0.1% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,395 pc
Transverse velocity: 32.0 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 4.6 pc | 5.9 pc | 3.6 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | 15.4 km/s | -32.3 km/s | -5.4 km/s |