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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Hydra » 

χ2 Hydrae (chi2 Hydrae)

Altitude: -42.4°   Azimuth: 278.6°   Direction: West

χ2 Hydrae is a variable hypergiant star in the constellation of Hydra.

χ2 Hydrae visual magnitude is 5.71. Because of its reltive faintness, χ2 Hydrae should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about χ2 Hydrae:

5.71
Hypergiant

χ2 Hydrae (chi2 Hydrae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -42.4°
Azimuth: 278.6°
Direction: West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of χ2 Hydrae

χ2 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 χ2 Hydrae are provided in the following table:

11h 05m 57s
-27° 17’ 16”
275.82°
29.97°
Hydra

The simplified sky map below shows the position of χ2 Hydrae in the sky:

Finder chart χ2 Hydrae (chi2 Hydrae) star
Simplified finder chart for χ2 Hydrae (chi2 Hydrae).

Visibility of χ2 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 χ2 Hydrae (chi2 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: 117.3°
Max altitude: 11.2°
Azimuth: 242.7°

Digitized Sky Survey image of χ2 Hydrae

The image below is a photograph of χ2 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 χ2 Hydrae is 0.034 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.014 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of χ2 Hydrae (chi2 Hydrae) star
DSS2 image of χ2 Hydrae. The red arrow shows the motion of χ2 Hydrae during the next 10000 years (5.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.33 arcmin in declination);

Distance of χ2 Hydrae from the Sun and relative movement

χ2 Hydrae is distant 799.02 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 30 kilometers per second.

245.10 pc
799.02 ly
30 km/s
0.034 arcsec/year
-0.014 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of χ2 Hydrae

χ2 Hydrae belongs to spectral class A0 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a hypergiant star.

-1.24
A0IV
10941K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where χ2 Hydrae is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of χ2 Hydrae. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of χ2 Hydrae

χ2 Hydrae
(chi2 Hydrae)
SAO179522
SAO179522