Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 25, 2026

Hydra Cluster

The Hydra Cluster is a galaxy cluster that contains 157 bright galaxies, appearing in the constellation Hydra. The cluster spans about ten million light-years and has an unusually high proportion of dark matter. The cluster is part of the Hydra–Centaurus Supercluster located 158 million light-years from Earth. The cluster's largest galaxies are elliptical galaxies NGC 3309 and NGC 3311 and the spiral galaxy NGC 3312 all having a diameter of about 150,000 light-years. In spite of a nearly circular appearance on the sky, there is evidence in the galaxy velocities for a clumpy, three-dimensional distribution.

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Jun 25, 2026
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Hydra Cluster
Central region of Abell 1060 (Hydra Cluster) with legacy surveys. The bright stars are HD 92036 (middle left) and HD 91964 (bottom)
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
ConstellationHydra
Right ascension10h 36m 42.7100s1
Declination−27° 31′ 42.900″1
Number of galaxies1572
Richness class13
Bautz–Morgan classificationIII3
Redshift0.012389 ± 0.0001231
Distance58.3 Mpc (190.1 Mly) h−1
0.705
X-ray flux6.1×10−11 erg s−1 cm−2 (0.5–2 keV)1
Other designations
Abell 1060

The Hydra Cluster (or Abell 1060) is a galaxy cluster that contains 157 bright galaxies, appearing in the constellation Hydra.4 The cluster spans about ten million light-years and has an unusually high proportion of dark matter.5 The cluster is part of the Hydra–Centaurus Supercluster located 158 million light-years from Earth. The cluster's largest galaxies are elliptical galaxies NGC 3309 and NGC 3311 and the spiral galaxy NGC 3312 all having a diameter of about 150,000 light-years.6 In spite of a nearly circular appearance on the sky, there is evidence in the galaxy velocities for a clumpy, three-dimensional distribution.7

A map of Hydra Cluster source ↗
References

References

  1. "Results for object Hydra CLUSTER (Abell 1060)". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  2. "National Optical Astronomy Observatory". Galaxies. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  3. Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G. Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. doi:10.1086/191333. ISSN 0067-0049. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  4. Wehner and Harris, p.1
  5. Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (16 April 2001). "The Hydra Cluster of Galaxies". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA.
  6. The Hydra Supercluster An Atlas of the Universe.com
  7. Fitchett, Michael; Merritt, David (December 1988). "Dynamics of the Hydra I Galaxy Cluster". The Astrophysical Journal. 335: 18–34. Bibcode:1988ApJ...335...18F. doi:10.1086/166902.