The Southern Cross. Best placed in January. It is deep in the southern sky and never rises for most of the northern hemisphere.
Crux, known in English as the Southern Cross, is centred near right ascension 12.9 hours, declination -62°. It is deep in the southern sky and never rises for most of the northern hemisphere.
It reaches its highest point in the sky around local midnight in January, which is when it is easiest to pick out. Earlier in the year it rises before dawn; later, it is already setting in the evening.
| Star | Designation | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| Hadar | β Cen | 0.61 |
| Mimosa | β Cru | 1.25 |
| Acrux | α¹ Cru | 1.33 |
SkyRef draws Crux in its real position for wherever you are, right now, along with the other 88 IAU figures.