Hercules is a large but faint summer constellation.

Between Vega (alpha Lyrae) and Arcturus (alpha Boötis) lie two constellations, Corona Borealis (The Northern Crown) and Hercules.

While the complete asterism of Hercules is difficult to trace, a distinctive lopsided rectangle or parallelogram is noticeable between Vega and Alphecca (alpha Coronae Borealis), slanted downward from left to right. This group of four stars is made of pi and zeta Herculis to the north and delta and beta Herculis below them: finding Hercules.

Pi Herculis is particularly noticeable for its reddish complexion and is an excellent place to begin studying the constellation.

Many binaries are found in Hercules, mostly suitable for telescopes and many with colour contrasts. The most outstanding globular cluster is found here, M13, as well as the lesser-known but equally spectacular M92.

Click on any orange-coloured object.

However, since Hercules is so vast, as mentioned above I would suggest beginning at pi (π), the reddish star between Vega and Alphecca. This star forms a distinctive mini-asterism with its neighbours, which makes it a handy point of departure.