Star profile

12 Hydrae

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is 12 Hydrae

12 Hydrae is a yellow, Sun-type star tucked into the long serpentine body of Hydra, the largest constellation in the sky. At 245 light-years away, its glow is modest but clean —the silhouette of a sun brighter and older than ours, suspended above a region thin in conspicuous stars. The light grazing Earth's atmosphere tonight peeled away from its surface as the European baroque was only beginning to fade.

Where it is and when to see it

12 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: 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.

Find it on the sky map

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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

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

Write my signature

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 12 Hydrae

Constellation: Hydra
Apparent magnitude: 4.32
Distance: 245.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 131.594° · Dec -13.548°
Catalogue: HIP 43067 · HD 74918

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.

See all 121 stars in Hydra