U Hydrae is a single[10]star in the equatorialconstellation of Hydra, near the northern constellation border with Sextans. It is visible to the naked eye under good observing conditions. It is a semiregular variable star of sub-type SRb,[6] with its brightness ranging from visual magnitude (V) 4.7 to 5.2 over a 450-day period, with some irregularity.[11] This object is located at a distance of approximately 680 light years from the Sun based on parallax.[2] It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −26 km/s.[7]
An ultraviolet (UV) excess has been detected coming from an extended elliptical ring that surrounds this star. It has a mean angular radius of 110″ and lines up with a detached shell of dusty material that was previously detected in the infrared band. The material was most likely ejected from the star due to mass loss episodes. The probable cause of the UV emission is from the movement of the star through space and possibly shock-excited molecules of H2. The emission does not show a bow-shock-like structure.[14]
^Lambert, David L.; et al. (October 1986). "The Chemical Composition of Carbon Stars. I. Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen in 30 Cool Carbon Stars in the Galactic Disk". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 62: 373. Bibcode:1986ApJS...62..373L. doi:10.1086/191145.
^Sanchez, Enmanuel; et al. (January 2015). "First Detection of Ultraviolet Emission from a Detached Dust Shell: Galaxy Evolution Explorer Observations of the Carbon Asymptotic Giant Branch Star U Hya". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 798 (2): 5. arXiv:1412.7542. Bibcode:2015ApJ...798L..39S. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/798/2/L39. S2CID118434298. L39.