Star profile

6 Hydrae

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is 6 Hydrae

6 Hydrae is an orange giant with quiet chemical oddities: its atmosphere shows carbon-enriched traces, a subtle signature of stellar ageing. Swollen past thirty solar radii, it pours out a warm glow that also lights up the infrared, where circumstellar dust is suspected. Its light takes almost four centuries to reach Earth, cool yet immense.

Where it is and when to see it

6 Hydrae lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 26° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 37° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 69° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 78° N.

It ranks no. 43 in brightness among the 121 stars of Hydra in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alphard, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 390 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 6 Hydrae

Constellation: Hydra
Apparent magnitude: 4.98
Distance: 388.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 130.006° · Dec -12.475°
Catalogue: HIP 42509 · HD 73840

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Other stars in Hydra

Hydra has 121 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 121 stars in Hydra