Star profile
Epsilon Hydrus
Hot blue starWhat is Epsilon Hydrus
Epsilon Hydri is a blue-white B-type star inside the small Hydrus, the lesser serpent that winds near the south celestial pole. It shines with the hard, youthful light of hot stars, with no traditional name attached to it — only the Greek ordering assigned by Bayer in his 1603 atlas. At 152 light years, it stands as a discreet beacon in a region of the sky barely visible from the north.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon 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 August, 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 56° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 22° N.
It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 20 stars of Hydrus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Hydrus, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 150 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 Epsilon Hydrus
- Constellation
- Hydrus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.12
- Distance
- 151.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 39.897° · Dec -68.267°
- Catalogue
- HIP 12394 · HD 16978
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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
- Delta Hydrus4.08
- Eta 2 Hydrus4.68
- Nu Hydrus4.76
- Zeta Hydrus4.83
- Lambda Hydrus5.09