It's not surprising to find plenty of deep-sky objects in such a big constellation as Hydra. Its varied objects include the Ghost of Jupiter, beautiful globules that are over twice the age of the Sun, and a dramatic grand design spiral galaxy known for its titanic explosions.

Hydra the Water Snake – Deep Sky Objects

Here is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the central region planetary nebula NGC 3242, also known as the Ghost of Jupiter. In the center is the white dwarf which is the remains of the planet which created the nebula as it was running out of nuclear fuel.

Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.