Hydra, the sea serpent, may be the longest and largest of all
constellations, but its stars are very faint. It is so long that four
constellations run along it's northern side. These are Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra.
Hydra's brightest star is called Alphard, which means "the solitary one". In Hydra, you can find a group of stars called an open cluster. This cluster is easily observed with binoculars and looks bigger than the full Moon.
Hydra is one of the oldest constellations. In Greek mythology, Hercules
slew Hydra, a horrible serpent with many heads that grew back as soon
as they were cut off. Killing the Hydra was one of Hercules' tweleve
labors, during which he also defeated Leo, the
lion, and Draco, the dragon.
Hydra is the longest constellation in the sky and is also the largest
in terms of area. It is so long that it takes more than six hours to
rise completely. Along it's northern side, we can observe the
zodiacal signs of Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra.
The stars in the serpent's head apper to be at the same distance but they are really very far away from each other. The northernmost of the six stars in the head of the serpent, Epsilon Hydrae, is a quintuple star - a system of five stars. Alphard (Arabic for "the solitary one") is Hydra's brightest star. Hydra is home to a fairly faint, but large, open cluster of about 80 stars known as M48. This cluster is easily observed with binoculars and looks bigger than the disc of the full Moon.
Hydra is one of the most ancient constellations. In Greek mythology, Hercules
slew Hydra, a horrible serpent with many heads that grew back as soon
as they were cut off. Killing the Hydra was one of Hercules' tweleve
labors, during which he also defeated Leo, the
lion, and Draco, the dragon.
Hydra is the longest constellation in the sky (>90 degrees) and is
also the largest in terms of area. It is so long that it takes more
than six hours to rise completely. Along its northern side are the
zodiacal signs of Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra.
The serpent's head (south of Cancer and east of Canis Minor) is not a star cluster but a chance grouping of stars, which are at greatly different distances (100-400 lightyears away). The northernmost of the six, Epsilon Hydrae, is a quintuple star - a system of five stars. M48 is a fairly faint, but large, open cluster of about 80 stars easily observed with binoculars. It has an apparent diameter of bigger than the disc of the full Moon.
This famous sea serpent is one of the most ancient constellations. In
Greek mythology, Hercules
slew Hydra, a horrible serpent with many heads that grew back as soon
as they were cut off. Killing the Hydra was one of Hercules' tweleve
labors, during which he also defeated Leo, the
lion, and Draco, the dragon.
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