It’s My ______ In A Box!

“I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within.” -Plautus
When it comes to astronomy, there’s no doubt that I’ve got a northern hemisphere bias. It’s no surprise, of course; I live here. And while I often write about the skies that we all share, astronomy has a historical bias in favor of the northern hemisphere. You know this, too. Ask most people to name one single thing in the night sky, and you’re most likely going to end up with this.
Image credit: Rich Richins of http://www.enchantedskies.net/.
The Big Dipper is arguably the most prominent, distinct grouping of stars in the night sky, and offers its own unique set of glorious sights for the astronomer. But below a certain latitude, the Big Dipper is invisible at all times of the year.
What’s more, a whole new set of stars, nebulae and more — invisible from the northern hemisphere — are visible from south of the equator. The most prominent grouping in the southern skies, arguably, looks like this instead.
Image credit: Chris of http://www.shatters.net/.
The Southern Cross, also known as Crux, is directly opposite to Cassiopeia ...