A walk through the southern sky

The constellations Crux (The Southern Cross) and Centaurus are very conspicuous and may be seen throughout the year, but during the months of October through December they lie very low in the southern horizon. During that time Orion is very visible just north of overhead and remains visible from November to April. Therefore, we should concentrate upon both groups as starting points to walk from one constellation to another.

Since the written descriptions are from direct observation of the celestial sphere they are more accurate than the diagrams, which are flattened out versions of the celestial globe.

Let us start our walk by locating the constellations The Southern Cross (Crux), and Centaurus (the Centaur).

As the Sun goes down and the first stars appear you may note one or two bright stars that seem to be quite isolated in the sky. Ignore them at present. Face south and notice a five star group, of which Stars 1 and 2 which appear separate from the other three stars are especially bright. See Fig. 7.

As the night deepens and more stars appear this group becomes more defined. Stars 1 and 2 are the pointer stars of Centaurus and the other three stars are part of Crux (The Southern Cross). See Fig. 8.