Crux, (Latin: Cross) , also called 

the Southern Cross, constellation lying in the

southern sky at about 12 hours 30 minutes right ascension and 60°
south declination and visible only from south of about latitude 30° N (i.e., the latitude
of North Africa and Florida). It appears on the flags of Australia, Brazil, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.

French architect and cartographer Augustine Royer first described it as a constellation

in a set of star maps published in 1679, but it has been written about since antiquity. The
constellation has five bright stars, one badly placed from the viewpoint of symmetry, so
the shape of the cross formed by the stars is somewhat irregular. Two of Crux’s
stars, Alpha Crucis and Beta Crucis, are the 13th and 20th brightest stars in the sky,
respectively, with magnitudes of 0.8 and 1.3. The constellation also contains
the conspicuous molecular cloud called the Coalsack.

Britannica Quiz

Stars: Explosions in Space

This article was most recently revised and updated by  Erik Gregersen.
nebula

Table of Contents

 Introduction

 Classes of nebulae

 Historical survey of the study of nebulae

 Chemical composition and physical processes

Fast Facts

 nebula summary
 Facts & Related Content

Quizzes

 Space Odyssey
  Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz

Media

 Videos
 Images

More

 More Articles On This Topic

 Additional Reading
 Contributors
 Article History

HomeScienceAstronomy

nebula
astronomy
Print Cite Share Feedback 

Alternate titles: galactic nebula, gaseous nebula

Written by 

John S. Mathis

Fact-checked by 

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 18, 2023 • Article History

Cat's Eye Nebula

See all media

Key People:

Isaac Roberts William Herschel Edwin Hubble Sir John Herschel, 1st Baronet Charles Messier

Related Topics:

molecular cloud nebulium Veil Nebula bright nebula Helix Nebula

See all related content →

Summary

Read a brief summary of this topic

nebula, (Latin: “mist” or “cloud”) plural nebulae or nebulas, any of the
various tenuous clouds of gas and dust that occur in interstellar space. The term was
formerly applied to any object outside the solar system that had a diffuse appearance
rather than a pointlike image, as in the case of a star. This definition, adopted at a time
when very