Which Way Does the Southern Cross Point?

But, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you can indeed use the Southern Cross – also known as the constellation Crux – to find celestial south. Then you can draw a line downward from celestial south to find the direction due south. Imagine a line joining the 2 stars at the 'head' and the 'foot' of the cross.

Does the Southern Cross point exactly south?

Where that line meets the line formed by the two most widely separated stars in the Southern Cross is the south point in the sky (the South Celestial Pole). From the Pole drop a line straight down to the horizon – that is south.

How does the Southern Cross always point south?

Even though the Southern Cross moves around the sky during the year, the foot of the cross always points to the SCP, which is very handy if you've lost your compass or the sun's gone down. Use these social-bookmarking links to share Find south using the stars.