Is Hydrae( constellation) the largest constellation in the night sky?

Answer 1

this is kind of a trick question as it depends on who you ask and what you mean by largest

generally hydra is considered the largest, as it is the longest and streches the length of 172 full moons placed side by side.

but it is in the southern hemisphere so many people in the northern hemisphere (mostly americans) don't know about it and say that orion is the largest.

and orion is the largest constelllation in the northern hemisphere.

now if by largest you mean distance and not just area of the sky well then that is different again.

but just go with hyda, that is what I do.

Answer 2

Yes, Hydra is the largest constellation in the sky, as constellations are defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the body which designates such things.

Note that the night sky is divided up into exactly 88 constellations and every point in the sky is in one and only one of those constellations. Hydra takes up 1302.844 square degrees, about 3.16% of the entire sky. The next largest constellation is Virgo, at 1294.428 square degrees.

Answer 3

Hydra is the largest modern constellation, at 1303 square degrees. Despite its size, Hydra contains only one reasonably bright star, Alphard (α Hya, 30 Hya), which is of apparent magnitude 1.98.

Answer 4

Well, from where my boat is, I can see both Orion AND the top 2/3 of the Southern Cross and it certainly looks to me like the Southern Cross is bigger than Orion.

Answer 5

No, Orion is, no Hydra is, no Draco is...it depends on how you mean the question. Largest in appearance to the naked eye here on Earth, where here on Earth is, if it is largest in arcseconds, etc.

Answer 6

Actually, I believe thar Draco, the dragon, is.