The Constellation Hercules

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ANDROMEDA AQUARIUS AQUILA ARIES AURIGA BOOTES CAMELOPARDALIS CANCER CANES VENATICI CANIS MAJOR CANIS MINOR CAPRICORNUS CASSIOPEIA CENTAURUS CEPHEUS CETUS COMA BERENICES CORONA BOREALIS CORVUS CRATER CRUX CYGNUS DELPHINUS DRACO EQUULEUS ERIDANUS GEMINI HERCULES HYDRA LACERTA LEO LEO MINOR LEPUS LIBRA LYNX LYRA MONOCEROS OPHIUCHUS ORION PEGASUS PERSEUS PISCES SAGITTA SAGITTARIUS SCORPIUS SCUTUM SERPENS SEXTANS TAURUS URSA MAJOR URSA MINOR VIRGO VULPECULA

Hercules is one of the most ancient constellations, placed in the sky to commemorate his completion of the fabled twelve labours assigned him by the gods.

As seen in the illustration below by John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719),
Hercules is depicted as kneeling (often referred to as the kneeling one), and either sideways or upside down in the sky.

The constellation contains the largest and brightest globular star cluster in the northern sky, M13. You can actually see M13 with your naked eye, but it is much more impressive with binoculars. And if you're lucky enough to have a telescope handy, M13 is one of the more spectacular sights in the sky.

To find M13, start with the brightest star in the sky, the brilliant Vega, in the constellation Lyra. Then look down and find the square of stars that make up the asterism known as the keystone of Hercules. Look for M13 about a third of the way along its northern edge. The photo of M13 below was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

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