Hydrus is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. Its first appearance was on a celestial globe published in 1598 in Amsterdam by the astronomer Petrus Plancius and the cartographer Jodocus Hondius. The first celestial atlas to depict it was Johann Bayer's Uranometria, in 1603. The French explorer and astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille charted the brighter stars and gave their Bayer designations in 1756. Its name means "male water snake", as opposed to Hydra, a much larger constellation that represents a female water snake. Hydrus remains below the horizon for most Northern Hemisphere observers. The brightest star is the 2.8-magnitude Beta Hydri, also the brightest star within 15° of the south celestial pole. Pulsating between magnitude 3.26 and 3.33, Gamma Hydri is a variable red giant some 60 times the diameter of our Sun. Near it is VW Hydri, one of the brightest dwarf novae in the heavens. Four star systems have been found to have exoplanets to date, including HD 10180, which might bear up to nine planetary companions.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrus

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1531:

According to traditional Catholic accounts, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary miraculously appeared imprinted on Juan Diego's tilma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

1866:

England's worst mining disaster occurred when a series of explosions caused by flammable gases ripped through the Oaks Colliery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaks_explosion

1941:

At a Nazi Party meeting in the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler declared the imminent destruction of the Jewish race. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_Chancellery_meeting_of_12_December_1941

1956:

The Irish Republican Army began its Border Campaign, a guerrilla campaign to overthrow British rule in Northern Ireland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Campaign_(Irish_Republican_Army)

1988:

Three trains collided (scene pictured) near Clapham Junction railway station in London, killing 35 people and injuring 484 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham_Junction_rail_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cockalorum: 1. A menial, yet self-important person; a person who makes empty boasts. 2. Boastful speech, crowing. 3. A game similar to leapfrog. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cockalorum

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I have not come here with reference to any flag but that of freedom. If your Union does not symbolize universal emancipation, it brings no Union for me. If your Constitution does not guarantee freedom for all, it is not a Constitution I can ascribe to. If your flag is stained by the blood of a brother held in bondage, I repudiate it in the name of God. I came here to witness the unfurling of a flag under which every human being is to be recognized as entitled to his freedom. Therefore, with a clear conscience, without any compromise of principles, I accepted the invitation of the Government of the United States to be present and witness the ceremonies that have taken place today. And now let me give the sentiment which has been, and ever will be, the governing passion of my soul: "Liberty for each, for all, and forever!"   --William Lloyd Garrison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Lloyd_Garrison