MEN AGAINST THE SEA 
29 
fiy south the Southern Gross appears shortly before Polaris 
drops from sight astern. An imaginary line through the long 
axis of the Southern Cross or True Cross points toward the 
South Pole. ( See fig. 7. ) The True Cross should not be confused 
with a larger i^ross nearby known as the False Cross, The lat- 
ter, though the stars are more widely spaced, is less bright. It 
has a star in the center, making five stars in all, while the True 
Cross has only four. Two of these are two of the brightest 
stars in the heavens. These are the stars on the southern and 
eastern arms. Those on the northern and western arms, while 
bright, are smaller. 
There is no star above the South Pole to correspond to Polaris 
above the North Pole. In fact the point where such a star 
would be, if one existed, lies in a region devoid of stars. This 
point is so dark in comparison with the rest of the sky that it 
is known as the Coal Sack. 
Figure 7 shows not only the True Cross but to the west 
of it the False Cross. Note, just to the east of the True 
Cross (hold the page above your head to make it realistic) 
two very bright stars. By using them and the True Cross 
as guides you can pretty accurately locate the spot within 
the “Coal Sack” which is exactly above the South Pole. 
First extend an imaginary line along the long axis of the 
Cross to the south. Join the two bright stars to the east 
of the Cross with an imaginary line. Bisect this line with 
one at right angles. Where this east line intersects the one 
through the Cross is (approximately) the point above the 
South Pole. 
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