The Southern Cross

Crucis (the Southern Cross) is the 88th largest of the 88 constellations recognised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is helpful for navigation as it helps determine the southern cardinal point. Its brightest star, Acrux (α Crucis), is a bluish-white star with a magnitude of 0.87 and is located 325 light-years from Earth.

In Inca mythology, in Tahuantinsuyu, this constellation was of great importance to the civilisations that developed in this territory. The chakana (Andean representation of Crux, in the form of a stepped cross), which in classical Quechua roughly means “ladder of ascent and descent” or “bridge up and down,” symbolically connected Kay Pacha (the earthly world) with Hanan Pacha (the world of the gods) and Uku Pacha (the world of the dead).

.