# I need a photo of a constellation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2001, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436 "2001-01-17T01:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/1 "2001-01-17T01:39:36Z")
I have gone through countless astronomy sites trying to find a **photo** of the Southern Cross constellation. I’ve found numerous charts showing its configuration and its position in the sky, but what I want is a photo. I want to get some sense of how bright it is, and how it looks relative to the stars and constellations around it. Any astronomers, amateur or otherwise? I just need a link to such a photo. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/2 "2001-01-17T02:00:47Z")
[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html) [http://www.southernskies.com.au/crux.htm](http://www.southernskies.com.au/crux.htm) I don’t mean to seem snarky, but these were both found in less than 5 minutes using [http://www.google.com](http://www.google.com) ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/3 "2001-01-17T02:01:06Z")
[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html) [http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/crux/constell.html](http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/crux/constell.html) [http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/crux-p.html](http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/crux-p.html) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/4 "2001-01-17T02:02:52Z")
[Here’s one](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960503.html). ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/5 "2001-01-17T02:04:03Z")
Ooooo, ooo, I can help here. I like [this](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000618.html) one, but you can search on the archives on [Astronomy Picture of the Day](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html) for something more specific. This is a great site for wallpaper . . . Tisiphone ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/6 "2001-01-17T02:39:35Z")
Thank you! And Shiva, I tried google. I also tried Alta Vista and Ask Jeeves. As I said, I found a lot of sites, but none with photos, just drawings. Wow, it is so beautiful! Not like our Big Dipper, which wouldn’t be anything special if they weren’t so large and bright. This is almost three-dimensional, like it’s leaning forward out of the sky. Four bright stars\* forming the four points of a perfect cross is way more impressive than a boring old ladle. This is why I wanted a photo. \*No, I didn’t miss the fifth star; I’m just remarking on how perfectly the other four are arranged. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/7 "2001-01-17T03:15:08Z")
Glad to help, and a search engine tip: Try Google’s ‘Advanced Search’ function to limit the domain it searches. For example, I searched for “southern cross photo” in **only** the domain ‘[nasa.gov](http://nasa.gov)’. In general, be as specific as possible to avoid overwhelming yourself. Or overwhelm yourself-- What the hey! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/8 "2001-01-17T03:52:31Z")
Duly noted, Shiva. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/9 "2001-01-17T06:29:03Z")
Keep in mind that most of the pictures that are linked to above are **not** as you would see it with the naked eye… The pictures where you can clearly see nebulosity are timed exposures. [This one](http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/crux-p.html) from **pldennison** is probably the closest what it actually looks like with the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/10 "2001-01-17T08:55:56Z")
Oh. Well, it still looks good. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-photo-of-a-constellation/50436/11 "2001-01-17T12:04:42Z")
The Southern Cross has two stars alongside it, known as pointer stars as the line they make points straight at it. They’re also very bright. Alpha and Beta Centauri, the two nearest stars to our Sun. However, there’s another cross-like formation, not quite as regular, that are known colloquially as the False Cross, and it has False Pointers too. **Todays astronomy trivia was brought to you by "Stuff I heard once so it’s probably wrong, Inc."**