Lambda Herculis is a 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...

 in
the constellation

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....

 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 the traditional name Maasym ("wrist").

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 Left 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 left borderline of the enclosure, consisting of λ Herculis, δ Herculis

Delta Herculis

Delta Herculis is a fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Hercules. It has the traditional name Sarin....

, μ Herculis

Mu Herculis

Mu Herculis is a nearby star system about 27.1 light years from Earth in the constellation Hercules. Its main star, Mu Herculis A is fairly similar to the Sun although more highly evolved with a...

, ο Herculis

Omicron Herculis

Omicron Herculis is a multiple star system in the constellation Hercules. It has the traditional name Atia and the Flamsteed designation 103 Herculis.- Properties :...

, 112 Herculis, ζ Aquilae

Zeta Aquilae

Zeta Aquilae is a triple star system in the constellation Aquila. It has the traditional names Deneb el Okab, from an Arabic term ذنب العقاب ðanab al-cuqāb meaning "the tail of the falcon", and the Mandarin names Woo and Yuë, derived from and represent the state Wu , an old state was located at...

, θ¹ Serpentis, η Serpentis

Eta Serpentis

Eta Serpentis is a binary star in the constellation Serpens. The primary, Eta Serpentis A, is an orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.23. It has a distant 12th magnitude companion, Eta Serpentis B, 3 arcminutes away...

, ν Ophiuchi

Nu Ophiuchi

Nu Ophiuchi is a Class K0, third-magnitude star in the constellation Ophiuchus. Its closest stellar neighbour is the bright binary system Tau Ophiuchi, roughly 16.9 light years away from the star...

, ξ Serpentis

Xi Serpentis

Xi Serpentis is a triple star system in the constellation Serpens. The primary star, Xi Serpentis A, is a yellow-white F-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.54. It is a spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of 2.29 days. A 13th magnitude companion, Xi Serpentis B, is located 25...

 and η Ophiuchi

Eta Ophiuchi

Eta Ophiuchi, also known as η Oph or η Ophiuchi, is a star in the constellation Ophiuchus. It also has the traditional name Sabik....

. Consequently, λ Herculis itself is known as , represent the state Zhao

Zhao (state)

Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...

(or Chaou (趙))., together with 26 Capricorni and 27 Capricorni ("m Capricorni" in R.H.Allen version) in Twelve States

Girl (Chinese constellation)

The Girl mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.- Asterisms :...

(asterism).

Structure

Lambda Herculis belongs to spectral class

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 K3.5III and has apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 +4.4. It is approximately 370 light years from Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

In 1783, English astronomer Wilhelm Herschel found that the Solar System

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

is, as a whole, moving in a direction close to the position in the sky of Lambda Herculis.