Beta Herculis
Encyclopedia
Beta Herculis (Beta Her, β Herculis, β Her), which also has the name Kornephoros, is the brightest star in the constellation
of Hercules
. It has an apparent visual magnitude which varies between 2.76 and 2.81.
Although β Herculis appears to the naked eye to be a single star, W. W. Campbell discovered in July 1899 from spectroscopic measurements that its radial velocity
towards the Sun varies, and concluded that it is a binary system
of two stars. An orbit for the binary was computed in 1908 from additional spectroscopic measurements.
At Palomar Observatory
, Antoine Labeyrie
and others used speckle interferometry with the Hale Telescope
to resolve the system in 1977. The Hipparcos
satellite observed the orbital motion of the primary relative to other stars, and an orbit was computed in 2005 using spectroscopic data together with these measurements. The period of the system is around 410 days.
The primary of the binary system is a G-type giant
star
.
word meaning "club bearer", and Rutilicus, a corruption of the Latin word titillicus, meaning "armpit".
It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism
al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī, "the Northern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines", along with γ Her
(Hejian, Ho Keen), γ Ser (Zheng, Ching) and β Ser
(Chow).
According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī or Nasak Shamiya were the title for three stars :β Ser
as Nasak Shamiya I, γ Ser as Nasak Shamiya II, γ Her
as Nasak Shamiya III (exclude this star)
In Chinese
, , meaning Right Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure
, refers to an asterism which is represent eleven old states in China which is marking the right borderline of the enclosure, consisting of β Herculis, γ Herculis
, κ Herculis
, γ Serpentis, β Serpentis
, δ Serpentis
, α Serpentis
, ε Serpentis
, δ Ophiuchi
, ε Ophiuchi
and ζ Ophiuchi
. Consequently, β Herculis itself is known as , represent Hézhōng (河中), possibly Hezhong Municipality or Hezhong Circuit (see : Wang Chongrong
, formally the Prince of Langye 瑯琊王, was a warlord of the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty
who controlled Hezhong Circuit, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). Hézhōng (河中) was westernized into Ho Chung by R.H. Allen, which was the meaning "in the river".
Crater class cargo ship
named after the star.
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of Hercules
Hercules (constellation)
Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...
. It has an apparent visual magnitude which varies between 2.76 and 2.81.
Although β Herculis appears to the naked eye to be a single star, W. W. Campbell discovered in July 1899 from spectroscopic measurements that its radial velocity
Radial velocity
Radial velocity is the velocity of an object in the direction of the line of sight . In astronomy, radial velocity most commonly refers to the spectroscopic radial velocity...
towards the Sun varies, and concluded that it is a binary system
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
of two stars. An orbit for the binary was computed in 1908 from additional spectroscopic measurements.
At Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
, Antoine Labeyrie
Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie
Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie is a French astronomer and holds since 1991 the "Observational Astrophysics" chair at the Collège de France....
and others used speckle interferometry with the Hale Telescope
Hale telescope
The Hale Telescope is a , 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning...
to resolve the system in 1977. The Hipparcos
Hipparcos
Hipparcos was a scientific mission of the European Space Agency , launched in 1989 and operated between 1989 and 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions of celestial objects on the sky...
satellite observed the orbital motion of the primary relative to other stars, and an orbit was computed in 2005 using spectroscopic data together with these measurements. The period of the system is around 410 days.
The primary of the binary system is a G-type giant
Giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence star of the same surface temperature. Typically, giant stars have radii between 10 and 100 solar radii and luminosities between 10 and 1,000 times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are...
star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
.
Naming and etymology
β Herculis has the names Kornephoros, a GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word meaning "club bearer", and Rutilicus, a corruption of the Latin word titillicus, meaning "armpit".
It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism
Asterism (astronomy)
In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky. It may form part of an official constellation, or be composed of stars from more than one. Like constellations, asterisms are in most cases composed of stars which, while they are visible in the same general direction,...
al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī, "the Northern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines", along with γ Her
Gamma Herculis
Gamma Herculis is a magnitude 3.74 binary star in the constellation Hercules. It is a giant star with a stellar classification of A9III that is located at a distance of about 195 light years from the Earth.-Name:...
(Hejian, Ho Keen), γ Ser (Zheng, Ching) and β Ser
Beta Serpentis
Beta Serpentis is a star system in the constellation Serpens, in its head . It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī, "the Northern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines", along with β Her , γ Her and γ Ser .According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum...
(Chow).
According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī or Nasak Shamiya were the title for three stars :β Ser
Beta Serpentis
Beta Serpentis is a star system in the constellation Serpens, in its head . It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī, "the Northern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines", along with β Her , γ Her and γ Ser .According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum...
as Nasak Shamiya I, γ Ser as Nasak Shamiya II, γ Her
Gamma Herculis
Gamma Herculis is a magnitude 3.74 binary star in the constellation Hercules. It is a giant star with a stellar classification of A9III that is located at a distance of about 195 light years from the Earth.-Name:...
as Nasak Shamiya III (exclude this star)
In Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, , meaning Right Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure
Heavenly Market enclosure
Tian Shi Yuan, the Heavenly Market Enclosure , is one of the San Yuan or Three enclosures. Stars and constellations of this group are visible during late summer and early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere . The summer triangle lies directly to the northwest.-Asterisms:The asterisms are :...
, refers to an asterism which is represent eleven old states in China which is marking the right borderline of the enclosure, consisting of β Herculis, γ Herculis
Gamma Herculis
Gamma Herculis is a magnitude 3.74 binary star in the constellation Hercules. It is a giant star with a stellar classification of A9III that is located at a distance of about 195 light years from the Earth.-Name:...
, κ Herculis
Kappa Herculis
Kappa Herculis is a double star in the constellation Hercules. Traditional names that have been attributed to the star are "Marfik", "Marfak" or "Marsic", all of which come from the Arabic لمرفق Al-Mirfaq meaning "the elbow", a name it shares with Lambda Ophiuchi.- Properties :Kappa Herculis is a...
, γ Serpentis, β Serpentis
Beta Serpentis
Beta Serpentis is a star system in the constellation Serpens, in its head . It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Sha'āmī, "the Northern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines", along with β Her , γ Her and γ Ser .According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum...
, δ Serpentis
Delta Serpentis
Delta Serpentis is a star system in the constellation Serpens, in its head . It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Yamānī, "the Southern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines"., along with α Ser , ε Ser , δ Oph , ε Oph , ζ Oph and γ Oph .According to the...
, α Serpentis
Alpha Serpentis
Alpha Serpentis is a triple star system in the constellation Serpens, in its head . Alpha Serpentis has the proper names Unukalhai, from the Arabic عنق الحية ‘Unuq al-Ħayyah "the Serpent's Neck", and Cor Serpentis from the Latin "the Heart of the Serpent"...
, ε Serpentis
Epsilon Serpentis
Epsilon Serpentis is a star in the constellation Serpens, in its head .It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Yamānī, "the Southern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines"., along with α Ser , δ Ser , δ Oph , ε Oph , ζ Oph and γ Oph .According to the...
, δ Ophiuchi
Delta Ophiuchi
Delta Ophiuchi is a star in the constellation Ophiuchus. It has the traditional name Yed Prior ....
, ε Ophiuchi
Epsilon Ophiuchi
Epsilon Ophiuchi is a star in the constellation Ophiuchus. It has the traditional name Yed Posterior ....
and ζ Ophiuchi
Zeta Ophiuchi
Zeta Ophiuchi is a star located in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It was a member of indigenous Arabic asterism al-Nasaq al-Yamānī, "the Southern Line" of al-Nasaqān "the Two Lines"., along with α Ser , δ Ser , ε Ser , δ Oph , ε Ser and γ Oph .According to the catalogue of stars...
. Consequently, β Herculis itself is known as , represent Hézhōng (河中), possibly Hezhong Municipality or Hezhong Circuit (see : Wang Chongrong
Wang Chongrong
Wang Chongrong , formally the Prince of Langye , was a warlord of the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Hezhong Circuit...
, formally the Prince of Langye 瑯琊王, was a warlord of the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
who controlled Hezhong Circuit, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). Hézhōng (河中) was westernized into Ho Chung by R.H. Allen, which was the meaning "in the river".
Namesakes
USS Ruticulus (AK-113) was a United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Crater class cargo ship
Crater class cargo ship
Crater-class cargo ship is a category of freighter that was constructed for use by the United States Navy during World War II under Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 type....
named after the star.