β Hydrae (beta Hydrae)

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:

Color of β Hydrae ⬤

Magnitude of β Hydrae 4.28

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 5°.

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 emisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of β Hydrae are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 11h 52m 54s

Declination J2000 -33° 54’ 29”

Galactic Longitude 289.27°

Galactic Latitude 27.41°

Constellation 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 [change]
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 [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 123.9° RISE 22:07

Max altitude: 4.6° TRANSIT 0:16

Azimuth: 236.1° SET 2:29

RIGHT NOW β Hydrae (beta Hydrae) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

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.

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.

Distance (parsec) 111.98 pc

Distance (light year) 365.06 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -1 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.05 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 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.

Absolute magnitude -0.97

Spectral Type B9III

Color Index (B-V) -0.1

Temperature of β Hydrae 11573K

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

Main star magnitude 4.28

Secondary star magnitude 5.18

Magnitude difference 0.9

Separation 0.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of β Hydrae

Bayer designation β Hydrae
(beta Hydrae)

Henry Draper Catalogue HD103192

SAO Catalogue SAO202901

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP57936

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-33 8018

General Catalogue of Variable Stars Bet Hya

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