Star profile

Pi Hydrae

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

What is Pi Hydrae

Pi Hydrae coils along one flank of Hydra, the longest constellation in the sky, a celestial serpent stretching across nearly a quarter of the heavens. It is an orange K-type giant some 101 light-years away, a star that long ago left behind the stable youth of the Sun and entered the phase in which core heat swells its outer layers. Its warm tone contrasts with the cold blue of the neighbouring constellations and lends a tepid note to the mythic monster's slow meander.

Where it is and when to see it

Pi 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 April, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 12° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 23° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 83° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 63° N.

It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 121 stars of Hydra in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alphard, the brightest: it lies about 68° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 100 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Pi Hydrae

Constellation: Hydra
Apparent magnitude: 3.25
Distance: 101.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 211.593° · Dec -26.682°
Catalogue: HIP 68895 · HD 123123

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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