When we observe the southern sky over several hours, we see that some stars travel in a large arc across the sky and then disappear below the horizon. Other stars never ‘set’ below the horizon but trace a circle in the sky. At the centre of these circles is a point called the South Celestial Pole, which is directly above due south.
This activity describes two methods of using the Southern Cross to find the South Celestial Pole. These methods can be used to work out the direction of south at any time of night and at any time of year. This is because the Southern Cross never sets when viewed from the southern part of Australia.
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