As well as being a It is the nearest red giant star to the Sun. The constellation Crux lies exactly opposite to Cassiopeia and the two can never be visible in the sky at the same time. Covering 68 square degrees and 0.165% of the night sky, it is the smallest of the 88 constellations. In New Zealand, mountains, or maunga, are held in the utmost regard and are considered the highest order of sacred. Although there has been much debate about when and how Polynesians actually started settling New Zealand, the current understanding is that they migrated from East and central Polynesia, the Southern Cook and Society islands region. The Coalsack is one of the most prominent dark nebulae visible to the unaided eye. Confirmation that the Cross has been found is the presence of two bright stars called the Pointers: Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Crux constellation is also bordered by Musca, the Fly. A number of ships have been named Southern Cross, but perhaps the most famous was the Shaw Savill passenger liner that brought assisted immigra… It was coined by the American cartographer Elijah Hinsdale Burritt around 1835. It is The Southern Alps extend along much of the length of New Zealand’s South Island. As well as being a national symbol, the Southern Cross is a name given to ships, planes, newspapers and companies. The Aborigines saw Crux and the Coalsack Nebula as marking the head of the “Emu in the Sky.”. Lying in the south-west Pacific, New Zealand consists of two main islands - the North Island and the South Island. The Southern Cross in the night sky has guided travellers, intrigued astronomers and inspired poets and musicians. a blue-white giant star. The star has 1.42 times the Sun’s mass and a radius 32.9 times solar. New Zealand - New Zealand - Relief: Although New Zealand is small, its geologic history is complex. Southern Cross Travel Insurance offers award-winning cover to Kiwi travellers. Mimosa is the 19th brightest star in the sky and Deneb, the 20th. The Incas knew it as “Chakana,” meaning “stair,” and it played an important part in Incan mysticism, symbolizing the three tiers of the world: the heavens, the world of the living, and the underworld. It lies at a distance of 228 light years from the solar system. To the ancient Egyptians, Crux was the place where the Sun Goddess Horus was crucified, and marked the passage of the winter season. The Southern Cross spans only six degrees from north to south, a distance only slightly bigger than the one between Merak and Dubhe, the pointer stars located in the Big Dipper, which point the way to Polaris, the North Star, located in Ursa Minor constellation. For several decades though, there have been debates on whether the flag should change or not. Gamma Crucis is also sometimes called Rubidea, or Ruby-like, because of its colour. The Southern Cross was an important navigational benchmark for sailors. The asterism is one of the easiest to identify in the sky and it has significance in a number of cultures in the southern latitudes. Cook's first voyage did not disprove claims of a huge landmass near the South Pole between New Zealand and South … The most problematic situation usually occurs with short journeys from west to east. © Crown Copyright. The group's distinctive shape is easily located because of its brightness and close proximity to each other. Here are 25 Interesting Facts about New Zealand that you probably didn’t know before reading this! The two stars are separated by four seconds of arc. This cross-shaped constellation has assumed great significance in the cultures of the Southern Hemisphere, even as far back as prehistoric times. The peninsula was important because it guarded the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait – a strategic waterway leading to the Sea of Marmara and, via the Bosphorus, the Black Sea. A federation of Maori tribes established a national flag on March 20, 1834. At Southern Cross Travel Insurance, we've been providing great quality cover for people visiting New Zealand since 2003. Who better to protect you during your stay in New Zealand than one of the country's leading and most respected travel insurers? Image: ESO, Claus Madsen. WHO and EU join together to support COVID-19 response and systems strengthening in Asia. The five stars that form the Southern Cross are represented on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Brazil. Brunier. The massive Southern Alps form the backbone of the South Island. The All Blacks use 'Ka Mate' as their haka, which was composed in the 1820s by the Maori chief Te Rauparaha. It was an important symbol to the Egyptians and the Aborigines among other cultures. Issued 19 March 2020 2.25pm (NZDT) As of 19 March 2020 2.25pm (NZDT), we are temporarily ceasing to issue new travel insurance policies based on the advice of the New Zealand Government not to travel overseas.. It is the brightest star in the constellation Crux. Alpha Crucis is the southernmost first magnitude star, lying just a bit more to the south than the bright Alpha Centauri in Centaurus constellation. In New Zealand, type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly and in some regions is considered to have reached epidemic proportions. The range contains New Zealand’s highest peaks. New Zealand’s South Island hosts the purest natural landscapes you’ll ever experience. years away, it is the furthest of the five stars from The New Zealand flag displays the Southern Cross. The stars are visible in the southern The first documented example of discovery of the Southern Cross was found in Ancient Greece around 1000 BC. Along with affordable, quality education, your children will be able to get close to nature and enjoy a diverse range of healthy sport, recreation, and adventure activities. is also on the Australian flag (although it shows all five Gamma Crucis, at the top of the cross, is a red-orange Southern Cross group, a collection of independent, health-oriented businesses in New Zealand, operates on not-for-profit principles and is New Zealand's largest non-public health care organisation. These cover areas as diverse as consumer protection, employment, property and building, occupational regulation and human rights. Map of New Zealand. To the east of the Southern Alps is the r… ε Crucis (Epsilon Crucis), formally named Ginan, is a fourth magnitude star, with a visual magnitude of 3.56, belonging to the spectral class K3III, which makes it an orange giant. In a wide-field image obtained with a Hasselblad 2000 FC camera by Claus Madsen (ESO), a region around the Southern Cross, seen in the right of the image (Kodak Ektachrome 200, 70 min exposure time). Following a line from Alpha to Beta Centauri will take you near Gamma Crucis, the top star in the cross asterism. star. The Southern Cross should not be confused with the so-called False Cross, formed by four other bright stars in the vicinity. Further confusion was caused by the introduction of an International Code of Signals, which led to the adoption of a signalling flag in 1899. the Milky Way galaxy. More News from WHO. The name Acrux is an abbreviation for the Bayer designation Alpha Crucis, which entered common use by the mid-20th century. 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