W Hydrae
Encyclopedia
W Hydrae is a Mira-type variable star
in the constellation
Hydra (constellation)
.
The star is nearly located within Solar Neighborhood, between 75 and 120 parsec
s, likely at 375 light years from Sun
.
s (within Saturn
's orbital zone) and 1.2 parsec
s (or nearly 247,500 Astronomical Unit
s, as far away as the Oort Cloud
in Solar System
).
Mira variable
Mira variables , named after the star Mira, are a class of pulsating variable stars characterized by very red colors, pulsation periods longer than 100 days, and light amplitudes greater than one magnitude in infrared and 2.5 magnitude in visual...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Hydra (constellation)
Hydra (constellation)
Hydra is the largest of the 88 modern constellations, measuring 1303 square degrees. It has a long history, having been included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. It is commonly represented as a water snake...
.
The star is nearly located within Solar Neighborhood, between 75 and 120 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s, likely at 375 light years from Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
.
Water and dust masers
The star also shows signs of intense water emissions, indicative of the presence of a wide disk of dust and water vapour. Such emissions cover a zone spanning between 10.7 Astronomical UnitAstronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s (within Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's orbital zone) and 1.2 parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s (or nearly 247,500 Astronomical Unit
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s, as far away as the Oort Cloud
Oort cloud
The Oort cloud , or the Öpik–Oort cloud , is a hypothesized spherical cloud of comets which may lie roughly 50,000 AU, or nearly a light-year, from the Sun. This places the cloud at nearly a quarter of the distance to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun...
in Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
).