Magnitude 4.402 Apparent magnitude (V) 4.402 | Constellation Hercules | |
Similar Kappa Herculis, Beta Herculis, Alpha Herculis, Mu Herculis, Pi Herculis | ||
Lambda Herculis (λ Herculis, abbreviated Lambda Her, λ Her), also named Maasym, is a star in the constellation of Hercules. It is approximately 370 light years from Earth.
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Nomenclature
λ Herculis (Latinised to Lambda Herculis) is the star's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name Maasym, meaning "wrist". In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Maasym for this star on 12 September 2016 and it is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.
In Chinese, 天市左垣 (Tiān Shì Zuǒ Yuán), meaning Left Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure, refers to an asterism which represents eleven old states in China and which is marking the left borderline of the enclosure, consisting of Lambda Herculis, Delta Herculis, Mu Herculis, Omicron Herculis, 112 Herculis, Zeta Aquilae, Theta1 Serpentis, Eta Serpentis, Nu Ophiuchi, Xi Serpentis and Eta Ophiuchi. Consequently, Lambda Herculis itself is known as 天市左垣二 (Tiān Shì Zuǒ Yuán èr, English: the Second Star of Left Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure), and represents the state Zhao (or Chaou (趙))., together with 26 Capricorni and 27 Capricorni ("m Capricorni" in R.H.Allen version) in Twelve States (asterism).
Structure
Lambda Herculis belongs to spectral class K3.5III and has apparent magnitude +4.4.
In 1783, English astronomer William Herschel found that the Solar System is, as a whole, moving in a direction close to the position in the sky of Lambda Herculis.