Hydra Hysteria Constellation of the Month

CFAS General Meeting

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Mythology of Hydra

Associated with

the nine-

headed monster

killed by

Hercules as one

of his twelve

labors.

Associated with

the snake in cup

served by a

crow to Apollo,

who seeing the

fraud cast them

all into the sky.

Etruscan pottery, circa 525 BCE

Engraving, Barthel Beham, 1545

Urania’s Mirror, 1825

Political Cartoon, 1836

Political Cartoon, 2001

Hydra as

seen by

the

naked

eye.

Walter Scott Houston

(1912-1993)

Wanted “something a little different” from the Messier Marathons, “something that would sharpen the skills needed to star-hop to small and faint galaxies.” So he created his

“Hydra Hysteria.”

The perfect place:

• Stretches across nearly 100° of sky

• 1303 square degrees of area (largest of any constellation)

• Hosts many 8th to 12th magnitude galaxies

• Ample supply of 5th to 8th magnitude stars, “perfect for star-hopping with a finder.”

• Planned for use with Sky Atlas 2000.0 or Uranometria 2000.0.

M48 (NGC 2548)

Open cluster discovered but miss-plotted by Messier in 1771.

Considered “missing” until rediscovered as NGC 2548 by Caroline Herschel in 1783 at its correct coordinates.

Sparse sprinkling of stars which appears “distinctly triangular” just below the head of the snake.

Called “the alligator” by

O’Meara.

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2642

SBb, v12.7, 1.6’x1.6’

NGC 2713

SBa, v12.7, 3.2’x1.0’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2962

S0, v12.9, 1.8’x1.0’

NGC 2967 (Sextans)

Sc, v12.4, 2.0’x1.8’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2610

PN, v13.0, 35”x30”

NGC 2763

Sc, v12.7, 1.5’x1.5’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2781

S0, v12.7, 2.0’x0.7’

NGC 2811

SBa, v12.4, 1.7’x0.4’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2848

Sc, v12.8, 2.1’x1.4’

NGC 2855

Sa/E1, v12.5, 1.2’x1.1’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2851

Challenge Object, v14.0

“Professor” Lewis A. Swift

Warner Observatory

Rochester, New York

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 2889

Sc, v12.4, 1.4’x1.3’

NGC 2992 / NGC 2993

Sa/pec, v13.0, 1.0’x0.5’

S/pec, v13.0, 0.4’x0.4’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 3109

I, v11.2, 11.0’x2.0’

NGC 3145

SBb, v12.5, 2.4’x1.0’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 3200

Sa/Sb, v12.8, 3.6’x0.9’

Edward Holden

Washburn Observatory

Madison, Wisconsin

M68 (NGC 4590)

Discovered by Mechain in 1780

and described by Messier as a

“nebula without stars.”

Shapley-Sawyer Class X

v8.0, diam 9’

O’Meara describes a “wedge-

shaped pattern” with dark lanes

that form a “windmill-like

formation” and a detached

portion with a dark “footprint.”

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 5085

Sb, v12.3, 2.9’x2.5’

NGC 5101

SBa, v12.5, 3.0’x1.0’

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 5150

E2, v13.1, 0.7’x0.6’

NGC 5253

(Centaurus)

E/pec, v10.8, 4.0’x1.5’

Brightest extragalactic outburst on record (v7.2)

July 8, 1895

M83 (NGC 5236) The Southern Pinwheel

Sc, v8.0, 10.0’x8.0’

Discovered by Lacaille in 1751

from the Cape of Good Hope.

One of the closest (10 million

light-years) and brightest

galaxies.

Well defined spiral arms form a

reverse “S” shape.

Host to four supernovae in 50

years.

Hydra Hysteria

NGC 5694 (Class VII)

cB, cS, v11.0, diam 2’

NGC 3314a/b

Overlapping galaxies

NGC 3242, Ghost of Jupiter

Caldwell 59, CBS Eye Nebula Turn Left at Orion