R Hydrae
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R Hydrae, abbreviated R Hya, is a single star in the equatorial constellation of Hydra, about 2.7° to the east of Gamma Hydrae. It is a Mira-type variable that ranges in apparent visual magnitude from
The bow shock around R Hya
Red giant
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A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature
R Hydrae
…star is located at a distance of approximately 410 light-years from the Sun but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −10 km/s. This is an aging red giant star with a stellar classification of M6e/M9e:, currently near the thermal-pulsing tip of the asymptotic giant branch. The 1998 detection of weak…
An illustration comparing the structure of the Sun (left) and its possible future as a red giant (right; not to scale, this image is of a false color for more contrast and does not depict stellar mass loss and the asymmetry of a red giant and the Sun is actually beige-white; an actual red giant would be orange-white to human eyes). The inset at the bottom right shows a size comparison.
This image tracks the life of a Sun-like star, from its birth on the left side of the frame to its evolution into a red giant on the right after billions of years
Mira A is an old star, already shedding its outer layers into space