Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
All Constellations » Hydra » 

β Hydrae (beta Hydrae)

Altitude: 4.6°   Azimuth: 177.6°   Direction: South

β Hydrae is a variable and double giant star in the constellation of Hydra.

β Hydrae visual magnitude is 4.28. Because of its moderate brightness, β Hydrae should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about β Hydrae:

4.28
Giant

β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 4.6°
Azimuth: 177.6°
Direction: South

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of β Hydrae

β Hydrae is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of β Hydrae are provided in the following table:

11h 52m 54s
-33° 54’ 29”
289.27°
27.41°
Hydra

The simplified sky map below shows the position of β Hydrae in the sky:

Finder chart β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) star
Simplified finder chart for β Hydrae (beta Hydrae).

Visibility of β Hydrae from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 123.9°
Max altitude: 4.6°
Azimuth: 236.1°

Digitized Sky Survey image of β Hydrae

The image below is a photograph of β Hydrae from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of β Hydrae is -0.05 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.005 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) star
DSS2 image of β Hydrae. The red arrow shows the motion of β Hydrae during the next 10000 years (-8.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and 0.83 arcmin in declination);

Distance of β Hydrae from the Sun and relative movement

β Hydrae is distant 365.06 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 1 kilometers per second.

111.98 pc
365.06 ly
-1 km/s
-0.05 arcsec/year
0.005 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of β Hydrae

β Hydrae belongs to spectral class B9 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star. β Hydrae is also a Si chemically peculiar star.

-0.97
B9III
11573K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where β Hydrae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of β Hydrae. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

β Hydrae star system properties

β Hydrae is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the β Hydrae double sysyem:

4.28
5.18
0.9
0.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of β Hydrae

β Hydrae
(beta Hydrae)
SAO202901
SAO202901