Did you know you can use the constellation Crux, the famous Southern Cross, to find the south celestial pole and the direction due south? That is, you can if you are south of the equator, and can see both Crux and the sky’s south pole. Even for us in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Cross is legendary. We’ve all heard of it. It appears on both the Australian and New Zealand national flags. And you might already know that the south celestial pole is the point in the sky directly above Earth’s southern axis. It’s the point around which the entire southern sky appears to turn. Here are three different methods for finding the south celestial pole, using the Southern Cross. Once you find it, you can draw a line downward from celestial south to find the earthly direction due south. Prefer video? Prefer to get your information via video? Here’s a video showing how to use the Southern Cross to find the south celestial pole and due south (assuming you are in the Southern Hemisphere). Why do we need 3 methods? In the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a moderately bright star – which modern astronomers call Polaris or the North...