Constellation
The smallest of all 88 official constellations, known as the Southern Cross and featured on several national flags.
| Type | Constellation |
|---|---|
| Area of sky | 68 sq° |
| Brightest star | Acrux |
| Brightest star magnitude | mag 0.76 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Zodiac constellation | No |
| Discovered | 1679 |
A constellation is a pattern drawn on the sky rather than a physical grouping: its stars are usually unrelated and sit at wildly different distances, just lined up as seen from Earth.
Crux covers 68 square degrees of sky, which is 0.2 percent of the whole celestial sphere.
That makes it the 88th largest of the 88 constellations the International Astronomical Union recognises.
It sits in the southern sky.
Its brightest star reaches magnitude 0.76, bright enough to pick out with the naked eye under a dark sky.
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