The American Association of Amateur Astronomers
The Constellation Hydra - The
Water Snake
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Mythology: Hydra - The Water Snake
Hydra was a monstrous water snake who lived in the marshes of Lema, often attacking the people of the nearby country of Argos. This fierce serpent had nine heads, the center head being immortal. As one of the twelve labors ordered by Zeus, Hercules was sent to destroy the many-headed monster. This task appeared impossible, as each time one of the monster's heads was severed, two new ones grew in its place. Much discouraged, Hercules sought the advice of his clever nephew, Iolaus, who suggested burning off the heads of the serpent. The two successfully accomplished this, finally burying the central, indestructible head of Hydra. The victorious Hercules then dipped his arrows in Hydra's immortal blood, forever rendering the wounds he inflicted as deadly.
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The constellation of Hydra is both the largest and longest of all the constellations,
spanning almost 7 hours of Right Ascension, and covering over 1300 square degrees. The attendant constellations
of Corvus, Crater, and Sextans seem
to ride on the back of Hydra as it winds across the sky. While on the whole this is a rather sparse region of the
sky containing primarily faint and distant galaxies, there are three Messier objects and several fine Herschel
objects in the area, making the hunt worthwhile.
HYDRA
M-48 - This is a fine open cluster over one half of a degree in diameter, and easily seen in binoculars.
It is composed primarily of fairly bright stars, loosely concentrated to the center. I estimated about 75 stars
in the area.
M-68 - This rather bright globular cluster is about 8-10' in diameter and is very compact, showing a bright,
granulated core and many stars resolved around its edges.
M-83 - This is one of the finest examples of a face on barred spiral galaxies in the sky. It is large, about
10' in diameter, with an obvious central bar and spiral arms which seem to go all the way around the galaxy. Often
photographed by amateurs, this is a real gem of the night sky.
NGC 3242 - The Ghost of Jupiter. This is a very impressive planetary nebula, showing a blue-green
disk almost 1' in diameter with a bright center and fuzzy edges. I saw a bright spot on the SE edge, and another
but fainter brightening to its NW.
Article © Copyright Rick Raasch
Photos © Copyright Edward P. Flaspoehler, Jr.
Messier Objects in Hydra
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Con
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Messier
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Type
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R.A.
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Dec.
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Mag.
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Size
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NGC#
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Hya
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M48
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Open Cluster
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8h 13.8
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-5d 48
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5.5
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54.0'
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2548
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Hya
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M68
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Globular Cluster
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12h 39.5
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-26d 45
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9.0
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12.0'
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4590
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Hya
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M83
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Galaxy
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13h 37.1
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-29d 52
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8.5
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11' X 10'
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5236
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