Hydrus, the Water Snake (as opposed to the ancient constellation
Hydra, the Water Serpent), sprawls
across the center of the picture. The bright star to upper right
is Achernar in Eridanus. To the left of it is
Alpha Hydri. Gamma resides left of center, while Beta lurks
at lower center. Surrounding Hydra are (counterclockwise
from the top) Reticulum,
Mensa (center left), Octans (lower edge to left), Tucana (lower
right), and southern Phoenix (down
and to the right of Achernar). The picture is
dominated by the two Magellanic Clouds, which are companion galaxies to
our own about 160,000 light years away. The Large Cloud (LMC) is to
upper left, the Small cloud (SMC) to lower right. Just down and to the
right of the SMC is the magnificent globular cluster 47 Tucanae.
The bright double toward the right center edge is Beta Tucanae: Beta-1
and Beta-2 combine to make the brighter of the pair, while Beta-3 is
the fainter. Alpha
off the picture down and to the right of Beta. Image courtesy of Chris Picking, Starry Night Photography.
