Vela (constellation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vela is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the sails of a ship…
False Cross
The False Cross is an asterism formed of the stars Delta Velorum and Kappa Velorum and Iota Carinae and Epsilon Carinae. It is so called because it is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross, causing errors in astronavigation…
via Vela (constellation) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From the Wikipedia page on the Southern Cross, the False Cross can be distinguished from the Southern Cross in the following way:
Crux is sometimes confused with the nearby False Cross by stargazers. Crux is somewhat kite-shaped, and it has a fifth star (Epsilon Crucis). The False Cross is diamond-shaped, somewhat dimmer on average, does not have a fifth star and lacks the two prominent “Pointer Stars.”
How would a flag that were mistakenly thought to be based on the Southern Cross but that was actually derived from the False Cross asterism possibly look like? What kind of meanings would such a flag hold?
A number of alternative flag designs for Australia are designed using the Eureka flag as a template. “Eureka!”, ironically, is an exclamation with the meaning of “I found it!” Well, obviously not! Pity the captains who mistook the False Cross for the Southern Cross.
Consideration about the shape of the Southern Cross in the sky could be used to narrow the number of realistic alternative designs for an Australian flag that include the True Southern Cross.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.