Southern Hemisphere

Did you know that we never see the same star constellations as what you see in the Northern Hemisphere? I never see the North Star. I never see the Big Dipper or the Little Dipper. It's weird that I had never once thought of that being something that would be different here.

The info I found below is about the "Southern Cross" a.k.a. "The Constellation Crux" at the following website that I thought was interesting. Southern Cross is also the name of a major cross road really close to where we live.

"The Southern Cross is the best known and most represented star group in the Southern Hemisphere. The group's distinctive shape is easily located because of its brightness and close proximity to each other. It can be seen all year round from almost anywhere in the Australia. The constellation is not visible in the northern hemisphere.

The Southern Cross contains four bright stars so situated that they depict the extremities of a Latin cross. Thousands of years ago these four stars were an object of reverence in the Near East. In the Biblical days they were just visible at the horizon. It was last seen from the latitude of Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. It is no longer visible at latitudes north of 25 degrees.

The constellation was again discovered in the early sixteenth century by European navigators and explorers who used it to steer by and also to calculate the time of day. Because it is not visible in the northern skies, there are no Greek or Roman myths or legends associated with it. Instead the Australian Aborigines have many stories to tell using the stars of the Southern Cross."