Story: Night sky

The Southern Cross and Pointers

The Southern Cross and Pointers

This long-exposure photograph shows the Southern Cross and Pointers. The Pointers (centre left) are Alpha Centauri, the bright white star, and Beta Centauri, blue-white in this photo. The Southern Cross (centre) has three blue-white stars, at the foot of the cross (Acrux) and at the ends of the crossbars. Gamma Crux, at the top of the cross, appears as an orange star. The Coal Sack is the dark shape at lower left of the Southern Cross. Just above the Coal Sack is the Jewel Box, which shows up as a light orange star in this image. The two bright-red, cloudy regions at bottom right are the Lambda Centauri Nebula and the much larger Eta Carinae Nebula.

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Starry Night Photography
Photograph by Chris Picking

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How to cite this page:

John Field and Maggy Wassilieff, 'Night sky - Southern stars', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/7905/the-southern-cross-and-pointers (accessed 28 March 2024)

Story by John Field and Maggy Wassilieff, published 12 Jun 2006