Hydra was sent to battle Hercules, by one of the Gods. Every time Hercules cut of its head, two more grew in its place.

Hydra is the largest constellation in the sky. It covers an area of 1303 square degrees. The majority of the stars in this section are around 6th magnitude or dimmer, so there is not much to see with the naked eye. With binoculars or a telescope, you can locate a few objects of interest.

Starting on the left is M83, an 8th magnitude barred spiral galaxy. Several Supernova have been seen in this galaxy over the past 200 years.

Just to the right we have M68, a globular cluster. Large telescopes should offer a good view.

Moving to almost the middle of the constellation, there is the galaxy NGC 3621.

On to the next object, which is a nebula with the nickname the Ghost of Jupiter. A 10 inch telescope or larger will give a good view.

Finally, right on the most easterly border, there is the open cluster M48, best seen with binoculars.