Star profile
Delta Hydrae
What is Delta Hydrae
δ Hydrae is a white A-type star in the head of the Hydra, the largest constellation in the sky, winding across a quarter of the celestial vault. Its crisp, silvery light marks one of the cardinal points of the mythological monster vanquished by Hercules. It shines with the clean temperature of young stars whose hydrogen fuses vigorously at the core.
Where it is and when to see it
Delta Hydrae lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Delta Hydrae
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.14
- Distance
- 160.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 129.414° · Dec 5.704°
- Catalogue
- HIP 42313 · HD 73262
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Hydra
Hydra has 121 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AlphardAlpha Hydrae1.99
- Gamma Hydrae2.99
- Zeta Hydrae3.11
- UkdahIota Hydrae3.90
- HIP 413073.91
- ZhangUpsilon 1 Hydrae4.11
- Beta Hydrae4.29
- Eta Hydrae4.30