Hydra Hysteria

Hydra Hysteria
Constellation of the Month
CFAS General Meeting
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Mythology of Hydra
 Associated
with
the nineheaded 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 “wedgeshaped 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