Star profile

Tau 1 Hydrae

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Tau 1 Hydrae

Tau-1 Hydrae is a yellow-white F-type star a mere 56 light-years away, set in the head of the enormous water serpent that unwinds across the southern sky. It is a relatively close neighbour of the Sun: a touch hotter and more luminous, with a creamy white tone easily recognised at the eyepiece. When its light set out toward us, the twentieth century was entering its final stretch; arriving tonight, it serves as an intimate yardstick of the stellar neighbourhood we belong to.

Where it is and when to see it

Tau 1 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 36° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 47° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 59° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 87° N.

It ranks no. 22 in brightness among the 121 stars of Hydra in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alphard, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 57 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Tau 1 Hydrae

Constellation: Hydra
Apparent magnitude: 4.59
Distance: 56.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 142.287° · Dec -2.769°
Catalogue: HIP 46509 · HD 81997

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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