Hydrus constellation lies in the southern hemisphere. Its name means “the male water snake” in Latin.
Hydrus is also known as “the lesser water snake,” the counterpart to the larger Hydra constellation, from which it is separated by the constellations Eridanus and Orion, and by the Milky Way. Hydrus lies between the two Magellanic Clouds, between Eridanus and the south celestial pole.
Hydrus was one of the constellations that first appeared on a celestial globe by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius in 1597, and was subsequently included in Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria in 1603. The constellation was created by Plancius from the observations of Dutch sailors Frederick de Houtman and Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser in the late 16th century.
FACTS, LOCATION & MAP
Hydrus is the 61st constellation in size, occupying an area of 243 square degrees. It is located in the first quadrant of the southern hemisphere (SQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +8° and -90°. The neighboring constellations are Dorado, Eridanus, Horologium, Mensa, Octans, Phoenix, Reticulum and Tucana.
Hydrus belongs to the Johann Bayer family of constellations, along with Apus, Chamaeleon, Dorado, Grus, Indus, Musca, Pavo, Phoenix, Tucana and Volans.
Hydrus contains four stars with known planets and has no Messier objects. The brightest star in the constellation is Beta Hydri, with an apparent magnitude of 2.80. It is also the nearest star to Earth located in Hydrus constellation, only 24.38 light years away. There are no meteor showers associated with the constellation.
STORY
Hydrus is not associated with any myths. It is a southern constellation, one that wasn’t visible to the ancient Greeks or Romans. The constellation was mapped by Dutch navigators and it represents the sea snakes they would have seen on their voyages.
The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille gave the constellation the name l’Hydre Mâle to emphasize the difference in gender between Hydrus and Hydra on his planisphere of the southern skies, published in 1756. Lacaille also transferred several stars to the constellations Tucana, Octans, Horologium, and Reticulum. In Bayer’s Uranometria (1603) Hydrus’ tail had extended to the star Lambda Octantis, which used to belong to Hydrus and is now part of the constellation Octans.
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