"The Southern Cross"
Location: R.A. = 12h 30m, Dec. = 60 S
Mythology:
Although generally considered a newer constellation, references to this
constellation can be found among ancient writings. When Claudius
Ptolemy, who first formulated a formal geocentric (Earth-centered) cosmology,
wrote his work, The Almagest, he described the Crux as being
the back legs of Centaur.
The Southern Cross was first designated as a separate constellation by
European navigators in the sixteenth century, who were particularly impressed
with its beauty (Andreas Corsali, an Italian navigator, said of it: "[it
is] so fair and beautiful that no other heavenly sign may be compared to
it."). As such, there is no formal classical mythology associated
with the figure.
Other Interesting
Sights: The spectacular Jewel Box Open Cluster
is in Crux (NGC4755), so called because when Sir John Herschel first saw
it in a telescope he described it as "a casket of variously coloured precious
stones." Another interesting feature in Crux is the Coalsack Nebula
-- an absorption nebula so dark that light cannot pass through it, giving
the appearance a large dark hole in space. It is also interesting
to note that the Southern Cross may be used by individuals in the Southern
Hemisphere in a manner similar to how individuals in the Northern Hemisphere
use the "pointer stars" of the Big Dipper to find Polaris and therefore
North -- when the long line of the Southern Cross is on the meridian, it
will point South.
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