Star profile
Mu Hydrus
What is Mu Hydrus
Mu Hydri is a yellow G-type star shining in the Lesser Water Snake, that southern serpent drawn by Petrus Plancius in the 16th century from Dutch navigators' logs. At 284 light-years, it glows with a familiar solar tone: an almost recognizable star lost in a stretch of sky that for millennia lay beyond the reach of the Mediterranean world.
Where it is and when to see it
Mu Hydrus lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is July, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 45° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 11° N.
It ranks no. 10 in brightness among the 20 stars of Hydrus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Hydrus, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 280 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Mu Hydrus
- Constellation
- Hydrus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.27
- Distance
- 283.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 37.918° · Dec -79.109°
- Catalogue
- HIP 11757 · HD 16522
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Hydrus
Hydrus has 20 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Hydrus2.82
- Alpha Hydrus2.86
- Gamma Hydrus3.26
- Nu Hydrus4.76
- Zeta Hydrus4.83
- Lambda Hydrus5.09
- Theta Hydrus5.51
- Iota Hydrus5.51