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| Abbreviation: Hya |
| English Name: The Water Snake |
| Genitive: Alphard |
| Hemisphere: Northern / Southern Hemisphere (Bold means the more area in square feet in Southern Hemisphere.) |
| Location: Between the constellations of Crater and Antlia. |
| Visible between latitudes: +60 and -90 degrees |
| Best season: Spring |
| Seen in three seasons: Winter, Spring and Summer |
| Best seen in: April (map) and May (map) |
| Seen between: February and May |
| Right Ascension (RA): 10 hour |
| Declination (DEC): -20 degrees |
| Area (square degrees): 1,303 (1st) |
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Hydra (The Water Snake)
- Hydra is the largest of the 88 constellations in the northern and southern sky, measuring 1,303 square degrees; its head, formed by a loop of six stars between magnitude +3.0 and +4.0, lies just north of the Celestial Equator. The head of Water Snake is under the constellation of Cancer (The Crab).
o - It should not be confused with the similarly named constellation of Hydrus.
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Messier Objects in Cetus
| M48 – Open Cluster; visible to the naked eye under good conditions. |
| M68 – Globular Cluster; wonderful challenging object for naked-eye detection. |
| M83 – Barred spiral galaxy; also known as the Southern Pinwheel – one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, making it visible with binoculars. (Six supernovae have been observed in M83.) |
Features of Interest
- NGC 3242 – Planetary Nebula; also commonly known as the Ghost of Jupiter; very high surface brightness and a bluish colour. (See the Video.)
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Named Stars
- Alphard (Alpha Hya) – Orange giant star of magnitude +2.0. (Its traditional name means “the solitary one”.)
- Al Minliar al Shuja (Sigma Hya)
- more list of stars in Hydra.
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Planetarium / Constellation Map
| Live constellation visible from the UK :- Planetarium (Hydra) | Best Seen in: April (map) and May (map) | Seen between: February and May |
IAU Sky Chart: Hydra
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Constellations – Visible from the UK
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Parts visible from the UK
| Antlia | Columba | Eridanus | Fornax | Microscopium | ||
| Piscis Austrinus | Puppis | Pyxis | Sagittarius | Scorpius | ||
| Sculptor |
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Constellations: Southern Celestial Hemisphere
…..– never seen from the UK
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