Southern Cross

Southern Cross

The Southern Cross (Crux Australis) is the most familiar constellation in the Southern Hemisphere with four bright stars forming the tips of a cross.

The bottom star Alpha Crucis (Acrux α) is a binary star, with both considerably larger than the Sun. To the left is the blue-white star Mimosa or Beta Crucis (Becrux β), the brightest of the group and almost five times the size of our Sun. At the top is Gamma Crucis (Gacrux γ) and to the right is Delta Crucis (Decrux δ). Somewhere between Alpha Crucis and Delta Crucis is a smaller star, known as Epsilon Crucis (Ecrux ε)

The Southern Cross is a long way away; Acrux, for example, is 1.8 billion billion miles from Earth (320 light years). Becrux is even further, at 580 light years. The fact that they are visible to the naked eye shows just how bright these stars are. (Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Read what Sherlock Holmes had to say about stars!)

Southern Cross

They are visible these days (nights) only in the Southern Hemisphere at latitudes north of 25 degrees. But 7,000 years ago, these stars would have been visible in Britain. The Greeks revered them and 2,000 years ago the constellation was just visible at the horizon. In the seventeenth century, the stars were useful night-time navigation points for mariners and explorers. Following an imaginary line defined by the top and bottom two stars for approximately 4.5 times the distance between them, leads to the South Pole. Unless it's cloudy of course.

The Southern Cross appears on several national and regional flags including:

• Australia:
  plus Australian Capital Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Eureka, Greater Melbourne, New South Wales, Northern Territory, and Victoria
• New Zealand:
  plus Niue and Tokelau
• Papua New Guinea:
  plus East New Britain, New Ireland Province, Simbu Province, Western Province, and West New Britain
• Samoa
• Brazil:
  plus Goiás and Paraná
• Magallanes Region (Chile)
• Tierra del Fuego (Antarctica)

And one particular old flag carries the name; The Southern Cross:

Southern Cross

About 150 years ago, the Southern States of America attempted to secede from the Union. (The ensuing war was no doubt seen as a good idea by some people, but not by the families and friends of the half a million soldiers who died in battle.) The Confederate's rebel flag had several names, including Rebel Cross, Confederate Cross and Southern Cross. The design is based on the St. Andrew's Cross, since many residents of the South originated from Scotland where St. Andrew is the Patron Saint. The colours of the red, white and blue were retained from the Stars and Stripes. The stars represented the eleven states of the Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Missouri.

These days the Confederate battle flag is considered a symbol of rebellion. Also, because of the South's history of black slavery, the flag is taken up by white supremacists, even outside the US.

The Southern Cross (of the American Confederate Flag) is also called the Starry or Starred Cross. This should not be confused with the Star Cross, which is a cross combined with the Star of David.