Southern Cross — Chambers's Encyclopaedia

A quadrant of the Southern Heavens from the Pole to the fortieth degree, showing the Southern Cross, a, and the Triangle, b. The two bright stars at c are alpha and beta of Centauri. — Quadrant of the Southern Heavens from the Pole to the fortieth degree, showing the Southern Cross, a, and the Triangle, b. The two bright stars at c are $\alpha$ and $\beta$ of Centauri.

Southern Cross, one of the star groups in the southern hemisphere of the heavens. It lies in right ascension 12 hours, and dec. 60° S., being thus a considerable distance from the south pole of the heavens. It was added to the list of constellations by Royer in 1679. The four principal stars form a rough cross when seen above the pole. The figure is of considerable size, being about 6° of dec. in height.