DMI image reference Hyi. « Previous || Next » Constellations A » H || Constellations I » V
Roll mouse over picture to see constellation outlines
Image and text ©2008 Akira Fujii/David Malin Images.
In the picture above south is at the top and the image covers 31.8 x 39.8 degrees.
Image centre is located at 02:23:32.3, -70:44:36 (H:M:S, D:M:S, J2000) Astrometric data from Astrometry.net.
Best seen in the early evening in September
Hydrus, the Lesser Water Snake is one of Johann Bayer's less interesting constellations, intended as the southern counterpart of Hydra, the Great Water Snake. It winds between the two Magellanic Clouds between the south celestial pole (SCP) and Eridanus. So uninteresting is this part of the sky that we do not have a photograph of the complete constellation of Hydrus, except the wide field image centred on Horologium. However, the image above was intended as a portrait of the Magellanic Clouds circling below the south celestial pole and it shows the constellation unconventionally, with south at the top (and the alpha star below the horizon). The complete outline of Hydrus is show at a smaller scale on the wide angle image that includes Horologium, Phoenix, Pictor and the south celestial pole.
Also on this photograph is one of the few images of supernova 1987A showing it as part of the LMC. At the time this picture was taken it was visible to the unaided eye as a faint star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Roll your mouse over the image above to see where it was. Also identified alongside the Small Magellanic Cloud is 47 Tucanae, one of the finest globular clusters in the sky.
Constellations adjoining Hydrus Dorado, Eridanus, Horologium, Mensa, Octans, Reticulum, Tucana.
Related images (other sources -- see under 'Related Images' on the pages below)
Doradus
AAT 3. The Henize 70 nebula in the LMC
AAT 42. Hodge 11, a globular cluster in the LMC
AAT 44. NGC 2070, the Tarantula nebula and 30 Doradus
UKS 14. The Large Magellanic Cloud
UKS 15a. Around the Tarantula nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
UKS 28. Henize 55/59, (NGC 2014/20) (NGC 2032-40) LMC nebulae
Reticulum
AAT 64. The Seyfert galaxy in Reticulum, NGC 1566
Tucanae
AAT 76. The globular cluster 47 Tucanae, NGC 104.
UKS 14. The Small Magellanic Cloud