- Crux (Wikipedia)
Crux (/krĘŚks/) is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way’s visible band. The name Crux is Latin for cross. Even though it is the smallest of all 88 modern constellations, Crux is among the most easily distinguished as its four main stars each have an apparent visual magnitude brighter than +2.8. It has attained a high level of cultural significance in many Southern Hemisphere states and nations.
- Star Tales - Crux (ianridpath.com)
The smallest of all the 88 constellations. Its stars were known to the ancient Greeks, and were catalogued by Ptolemy in the Almagest, but at that time were regarded as part of the hind legs of Centaurus, the centaur, rather than as a separate constellation. They subsequently became lost from view to Europeans because of the effect of precession, which causes a gradual drift in the position of the celestial pole against the stars, and were rediscovered during the 16th century by seafarers venturing south.
