Hydra is the largest and longest constellation in the sky. It stretches fully one quarter of the way around the horizon. The killing of the water snake (also called the many headed monster), was the second of the twelve labours of Hercules. At first Hercules had trouble dealing with the monster, because every time he chopped off its head, two more would grow in its place. Hercules finally discovered that burning the stump of a severed head would stop it from growing another one, and he was able to defeat the monster. The gods placed it in the sky to commemorate his victory.

The alpha star in the constellation Hydra is Alphard, which means the solitary one, because it is the only bright star in that region of the sky.
It is also known as Cor Hydrae, the heart of the Hydra. It is about 95 light years away.

M48

M48 (NGC 2548) is an open star cluster at the very edge of the constellation's western border.

NGC 3242

NGC 3242 is a planetary nebula often called the ghost of Jupiter, and is a fine sight in a small telescope.

M68

M68 is a globular cluster about 100 light years in diameter, 46,000 light years away from Earth.

M83

M83 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the southern sky. It is 10 million light years away.

NGC 5694

Located near the tail of the Hydra, is the globular cluster NGC 5694. It is over 100,000 light years away.

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