Hydrus - The Little Snake

Hydrus is bordered on the west by Tucana and on the east by Reticulum. It is one of the smaller constellations, and it is positioned between the two Magellanic Clouds. It is visible only to southern hemisphere observers.

History and Mythology

Hydrus is a modern constellation that was created by Johann Bayer in 1603, so it does not have a mythology. It is sometimes called the male water snake, so it would not be confused with the female water snake, Hydra.

Notable Objects

Hydrus consists of stars of third magnitude and fainter. Alpha Hydri is magnitude 2.9. Beta Hydri is a yellow, sunlike star of magnitude 2.8 that is relatively nearby, only 24 light years away. Gamma Hydri is a red giant of magnitude 3.2.

There are no prominent star clusters in Hydrus. The diffuse nebula NGC 602 is a small, bright cloud that appears broken into several distinct regions. Astronomers regard this nebula as associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud.