Rho Hydrae, equally written ρ Hydrae, is a binary star in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.34. The distance to this system, based upon an annual parallax shift of 9.21 mas, is about 354 light years. At that distance, the visual magnitude is diminished by an interstellar extinction of 0.06 magnitudes, due to intervening dust.
The primary component is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A0 Vn. It has around double the radius of the Sun and 3.2 times the Sun's mass. Rho Hydrae is around 350 million years old and has a high rate of spin, with a projected rotational velocity of 128 km/s. It radiates 242 times the solar luminosity from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 9,795 K. The companion is a magnitude 11.9 star at an angular separation of 12.1 arc seconds along a position angle of 146°, as of 2000.
This system appears among bright stars in a compact pentagon, resembling a quadrilateral due to the suggestive proximity (close arc distance) to Epsilon Hydrae (ε Hya). This shape in the Greco-Roman tradition, which draws on trading and navigation histories shared with nearby older-recorded astrologies is an asterism that represents the head of the water snake.
This light source, along with comparable strength (apparent magnitude) Epsilon, δ Hya (Lisan al Sudja), ζ Hya, η Hya, and σ Hya (Minchir), were Ulug Beg's Min al Azʽal, "Belonging to the Uninhabited Spot". According to the catalogue of stars in the Technical Memorandum 33-507 - A Reduced Star Catalog Containing 537 Named Stars, Min al Azʽal or Minazal were the title for five stars: δ Hya as Minazal I, η Hya as Minazal II, ε Hya as Minazal III, ρ Hya as Minazal IV and ζ Hya as Minazal V (exclude σ Hya).
In Chinese, Chinese: 柳宿 (Chinese: Liǔ Sù), meaning Willow, refers to an asterism consisting of ρ Hydrae, δ Hydra, σ Hydrae, η Hydrae, ε Hydrae, ζ Hydrae, ω Hydrae and θ Hydrae[1] Consequently, ρ Hydrae itself is known as Chinese: 柳宿四 (Chinese: Liǔ Sù sì, English: the Fourth Star of Willow).[2]
The people of Groote Eylandt called Unwala, "The Crab", for the star cluster including this star, δ Hya (Lisan al Sudja), ε Hya, η Hya, ζ Hya and σ Hya (Minchir).