The Australian flag, the Brazilian flag and the flag of Samoa all have one thing in common.
Can you guess what it is?
-----TIME EFFECT----- Yeah if you said the colours blue and white
well… yes you are right but that’s not what I am looking for…
The answer I was looking for is the fact that all three flags have stars on them in the
form of a asterism known as the Southern Cross which is part of a constellation known as
Crux.
Why is this constellation on all of these flags?
Well stick around to find out.
Crux is a constellation located in the southern sky in a bright portion of the Milky Way.
and It is among the most easily distinguished constellations, as all of its 4 main stars
are easily visible with the naked eye.
Its name – crux- is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped or kite-like
pattern – known as an asterism - that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.
And it is the smallest of the 88 constellations.
Despite being in the southern hemisphere Crux was known to the Ancient Greeks due to the
fact that it can be seen from southern Egypt;
According to astronomers it was entirely visible as far north as Britain in the fourth millennium
BC.
However, the gradual movement of the earth (known as the precession of the equinoxes)
over time lowered its stars below the European horizon, and they were eventually forgotten
by the inhabitants of northern latitudes.
During the time of colonialism the stars where rediscovered by Europeans and were a source
of fascination for many astronomers at the time.
Historians generally credit a Portuguese astronomer (João Faras) - who accompanied Pedro Álvares
Cabral in the discovery of Brazil in 1500 - for being the first European to notice and
depict the constellation correctly.
He sketched and described the constellation (calling it "Las Guardas") in a letter written
on the beaches of Brazil on May 1, 1500, to the Portuguese monarch (Manuel i)
The constellation soon became very important in the Southern Hemisphere, becoming used
for navigation.
The constellation is used in a similar way to the Polaris or North star is used in the
northern hemisphere, but where the Polaris is used to find north, crux is used to find
the south.
This is done by tracing a line between two of the stars to find south.
Much like the north star the southern cross gained great significance in the cultures
of the southern hemisphere, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, whose pioneers
were colloquially referred to as sons and daughters of the Southern Cross.
Beginning in the colonial age, Crux became used as a national symbol by several southern
nations.
The brightest stars of Crux appear on the flags of Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Papua
New Guinea and Samoa.
They also appear on the flags of other parts of Australia and south American regions.
Crux also appears on the Brazilian coat of arms and, as of July 2015, Brazilian Passports.
Before we finish let’s conclude: The stars that appear on a lot of the flags
in the southern hemisphere are known as the Southern Cross.
The southern cross is an asterism or pattern which is part of the constellation crux
In ancient times, you could see it in Europe And it is often used to find the south.
I really enjoyed making this video, looking up the various constellation and stars just
remined me of how small we really are and what is out there.
Maybe in the near future with companies like SpaceX about we might get to experience even
a little of what is out there.
I hope you enjoyed this video and if you are from the southern hemisphere, let us know
if you can see crux and if your country or area uses it on your flags.
Thanks for watching.