Hydrus

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See also: USS Hydrus (AKA-28)
Hydrus
Hydrus
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List of stars in Hydrus
Abbreviation: Hyi
Genitive: Hydri
Symbology: the water snake
Right ascension: 0h05m - 4h40m h
Declination: −58° - −82°
Area: 243 sq. deg. (61st)
Main stars: 3
Bayer/Flamsteed stars: 19
Stars known to have planets: 1
Bright stars: 2
Nearby stars: 1
Brightest star: beta Hyi (2.82m)
Nearest star: beta Hyi (24.37 ly)
Messier objects: none
Meteor showers: none
Bordering constellations: Dorado
Eridanus
Horologium
Mensa
Octans
Phoenix (corner)
Reticulum
Tucana
Visible at latitudes between +8° and −90°
Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of November

Hydrus (pronounced /ˈhaɪdrəs/, Latin: Hydra, also referred to as "male Hydra" or "little Hydra") is a minor southern constellation. The constellation was one of twelve constellations created by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597, and it first appeared in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603.

It should not be confused with Hydra. "Hydrus" is a name for a type of water snake. The constellation Hydra represents the Lernaean Hydra of Greek mythology, a serpentine water monster that could grow two more heads when one was severed.

Contents

[edit] Notable Deep-sky Objects

  • IC 1717

[edit] History

Hydrus was discovered circa 1595 by two Dutch navigators, Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman. It was charted in Johann Bayer's Uranometria in 1603.[1]


The only star in Hydrus that anyone seems to have named is γ Hyi, which in China was known as Foo Pih.

[edit] Citations

[edit] References

[edit] External links






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