Star profile

Alpha Hydrus

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

What is Alpha Hydrus

Alpha Hydri presides over the small southern constellation of the Male Water Snake, charted by Dutch navigators at the close of the sixteenth century. A type F subgiant some 72 light-years away —practically a neighbour by galactic standards— it shines with a creamy white light slightly warmer than the Sun. It is crossing the phase in which its hydrogen core has been exhausted, foreshadowing the fate that awaits Sun-like stars billions of years from now.

Where it is and when to see it

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

From London it never rises above the horizon.
From New York it never rises above the horizon.
From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 62° up.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 28° N.

It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 20 stars of Hydrus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Hydrus, the brightest: it lies about 17° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 72 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Alpha Hydrus

Constellation: Hydrus
Apparent magnitude: 2.86
Distance: 71.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 29.692° · Dec -61.570°
Catalogue: HIP 9236 · HD 12311

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Other stars in Hydrus

Hydrus has 20 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 20 stars in Hydrus