BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Hydra the Water Snake – Myths and Stars *new*

What links the biggest constellation in the sky with the flag of Brazil? Why is the star V Hydrae bright red? How did the hero Hercules vanquish a nine-headed monster? Read all about it here.

Hydra the Water Snake – Myths and Stars

Hydra is not only the biggest constellation in the sky, but - amazingly - it used to be even bigger. It was so unmanageable that over time stellar mapmakers invented new constellations by taking away some of its stars. Crater (the cup), Corvus (the crow) and Sextans (the sextant) still exist.

But 18th century French astronomer Jerome also invented Laland Felis (the cat). This made it into a few star atlases, but was never officially accepted. Sad for cat lovers.

Lalande himself wrote, "I love cats very much. I will have this picture engraved on the star map. The starry sky has made me tired enough all my life to allow me to have a little fun now."

Here is the 18th-century Urania's Mirror depiction of Hydra. You can see characters from both of the popular stories also included. There's the Crow and the Cup, which were fashioned from some of the stars of Hydra. Hercules is down in the lower left corner. Lalande's creation Felis (the Cat) wasn't part of this story, and didn't make the official constellations list.