Constellation Southern Cross (Crux)
Southern Cross is one of the 88 constellations that carve up the sky. It sits in the far southern sky and rides highest overhead around March.
Bright stars in Southern Cross
| Name | Bayer | Magnitude | Type | Distance (ly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrux | alpha Cru | 0.77 | B0.5IV | 320.0 |
| Mimosa | beta Cru | 1.25 | B0.5III | 280.0 |
| Mimosa-A | beta Cru | 1.30 | B0.5III | 280.0 |
About the constellation
The constellation Southern Cross (Latin Crux) lies in the far southern sky. It passes highest around midnight in March, so the weeks around then are the easiest time to track it down. Its brightest star is Acrux, at magnitude 0.8, easy to pick out even from a lit-up city. From most of the southern hemisphere it climbs into view at some point in the year. Astronomers label its stars with the genitive form Crucis, as in "Alpha Crucis".
Other constellations
And Ant Aps Aql Aqr Ara Ari Aur Boo Cae Cam Cnc CVn CMa CMi Cap Car Cas Cen Cep Cet Cha Cir Col Com CrA CrB Crv Crt Cyg Del Dor Dra Equ Eri For Gem Gru Her Hor Hya Hyi Ind Lac Leo LMi Lep Lib Lup Lyn Lyr Men Mic Mon Mus Nor Oct Oph Ori Pav Peg Per Phe Pic Psc PsA Pup Pyx Ret Sge Sgr Sco Scl Sct Ser Sex Tau Tel Tri TrA Tuc UMa UMi Vel Vir Vol Vul