An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The only bright star in the constellation → Hydra, that has a magnitude of about 2 and a reddish color. Alphard is a giant of spectral type K3, and has a → white dwarf→ companion. Alphard is mild barium star probably contaminated by its companion before becoming a white dwarf.

Alphard, from Ar. Al-Frad ash-Shuja' "the solitary of the Serpent," from Frad "solitary" + Shuja' "a species of serpent".

A molecular compound made from just three → chemical elements: → carbon, → hydrogen, and → oxygen. Carbohydrates have the general molecular formula C_xH_2yO_y, and thus were once thought to represent "hydrated carbon." However, the arrangement of atoms in carbohydrates has little to do with → water molecules. Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the body. They include sugars, starches, cellulose and many other compounds found in living organisms. In their basic form, carbohydrates are simple sugars or monosaccharides.

→ carbo-; → hydrate.

1) The Water Serpent. The longest and largest constellation in the sky, stretching almost 7 hours of right ascension, and covering over 1300 square degrees, from → Canis Minor to → Libra. It lies south of → Cancer, → Leo, and → Virgo, and is best seen in the northern hemisphere during the months of February through May. Its brightest star is → Alphard. Abbreviation: Hya; Genitive: Hydrae.
2) The third satellite of → Pluto discovered in 2005 by astronomers using the → Hubble Space Telescope images. Also called Pluto III (P3). It has an estimated diameter of between 60 and 170 km and an → orbital period of 38.2 days. It orbits the → barycenter of the → Pluto-→ Charon system at a distance of about 65,000 km.

Hydra, from L. hydrus, from Gk. hydra "water-snake;" cf. Av. udra- "otter;" Skt. udrá- "otter;" O.H.G. ottar "otter;" O.E. otor, ottor; Ger. Otter; E. otter; Lith. udras, udra "otter;" akin to → water. In Gk. mythology, this constellation represents the gigantic nine-head water-snake which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Herakles was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labours, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang forth. So with the help of Iolaos, Herakles applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing regeneration. In the battle he also crushed a giant crab (→ Cancer) beneath his heel which had come to assist Hydra.

Hudrâ, from Gk. hydra, as above. → Hydrus (آبمار)

A relatively poor → galaxy cluster at about 50 Mpc containing a pair of bright galaxies near its centre: NGC 3309 and NGC 3311. Also known as Abell 1060 (→ Abell catalog), Hydra I is the prototype of an evolved and dynamically relaxed cluster, being dominated by early-type galaxies and having a regular core shape.

→ Hydra; → cluster.

To combine chemically with → water.

From → hydr-, → hydro- + -ate a verbal suffix.

Hidridan, from Gk. → hydr-, âbidan, from âb, → water, + -idan infinitive suffix.

Combined with → water molecules.

P.p./adj. of → hydrate.

The process of combining with → water.

Verbal noun of → hydrate.

Operated, moved, or employing water or other liquids in motion.

From Gk. hydraulikos organon "water organ," from → hydro- "water" + aulos "musical instrument, hollow tube."

A device, which uses the energy of water flowing by gravity intermittently through a pipe to force a small portion of the water to a height greater than that of the source.

→ hydraulic; → ram.

The nearest known → classical T Tauri star, situated some 56 → parsecs away in the constellation → Hydra, far from any → molecular cloud (abbreviated TW Hya). It is a variable star with large Hα-emission → equivalent width. TW Hya is similar in mass to the Sun, but is only about 8 million years old. The star appears to be → accreting from a remarkable → face-on→ protoplanetary disk of dust and gas, resolved in images from the → Hubble Space Telescope. Stellar light scattered from the optically thick dust disk is seen from 20 to 230 AU. The → scattering profile indicates that the disk is → flared, not geometrically flat. TW Hya is accompanied by a group of other low-mass stars with similar ages and space motions, comprising the → TW Hydrae association. An → exoplanet of mass nearly 10 → Jupiters has been detected around TW Hya. It orbits the star with a period of 3.56 days at 0.04 AU, inside the inner rim of the disk.

→ Hydra.

A young (≤ 100 million years) association of stars (abbreviated TWA) with at least 27 members, from → intermediate mass stars to planetary mass objects. Five of them, including → TW Hydrae, display signatures of → T Tauri stars. TWA is the first moving group of young nearby (≤ 100 → paesecs) stars to be identified.

→ TW Hydrae; → association.