Crux Australis


30 minutes exposure, Agfachrome 400 film. 120mm f/2.0 Minolta lens.

Probably the most famous of all the southern constellations is Crux Australis - The Southern Cross. Although the smallest of all the constellations, it has the highest concentration of bright stars of any constellation. Three of the 4 stars forming the cross are brighter than Belatrix, the third brightest star in Orion.

The Southern Cross is on the right of centre, while the two bright stars to the left are alpha and beta centauri. These two stars are commonly known as 'The Pointers' as they point to the Southern Cross.

The region around the Cross is very rich in interesting deep-sky objects of all types. The above photograph is reproduced below with some of the brighter objects indicated. Details are listed below.


Number Name R.A. Dec
1 NGC 3766 11 36.1 -61 37 Image
2 IC 2948
The Running Chicken Nebula
11 37.3 -63 11 Image
3 NGC 4755
The Jewel Box Cluster
12 53.6 -60 20 Image
4 NGC 5139
Omega Centauri
13 26.8 -47 29 Image
5 NGC 5128
Centaurus A galaxy
13 25.5 -43 01 Image
6 NGC 5460 14 07.6 -48 19
7 NGC 5822 15 05.2 -54 21 Image
8 NGC 4945 13 04.9 -47 16 Image
9 Coal Sack 12 53 -63
10 NGC 5286 13 46.4 -51 22 Image
11 NGC 5617 14 29.8 -60 43


30 minutes exposure on Fuji Super HG II 400 film. 35mm f/2.8 lens.


30 minutes exposure, Kodak Ektachrome 400 slide film. 35mm f/2.8 lens.


30 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film.
85mm f/2 Canon lens.


20 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film.
85mm f/2 Canon lens.


30 minutes exposure, Ektachrome 200 slide film.
300mm f/2 Pentax lens.


2 minutes exposure.
Modified Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera. 18mm lens at f/3.5.


5 minutes exposure.
Modified Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera. 135mm Olympus lens at f/3.5.


2 minutes exposure.
Modified Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera. 135mm Olympus lens at f/3.5.