Crux

Crux (abbreviation: Cru), the Cross, is a tiny but brilliant southern constellation invisible from most of the populated northern hemisphere. Surrounded on three sides by Centaurus, with Musca to the south, it is well seen only south of the Tropic of Cancer.

NGC 4463. Credit: ESO Digitised Sky Survey.

Crux contains the most famous of dark nebulae, Coalsack, and several bright open clusters, including the Jewel Box, NGC 4349 (magnitude 7.4; diameter 16 arcminutes; RA 12h 24.5m, Dec –61° 54'), and NGC 4463, part of which is also in Musca (magnitude 7.2; diameter 5 arcminutes; RA 12h 30.0m, Dec –64° 48'). See below for details of the constellation's brightest stars.

Stars brighter than magnitude 4.0
star	vis mag	abs mag	spec type	distance (ly)	RA (h m s)	Dec (° ' ")
Alpha (Acrux)	0.77	-4.19		321
Alpha-1	1.58	-3.9	B0.5IV		12 26 36	-63 05 56
Alpha-2	2.09	-3.4	B1V	170	12 26 37	-63 05 58
Beta (Mimosa)	1.25	-3.92	B0.5III	353	12 47 43	-59 41 19
Gamma (Gacrux)	1.59	-0.56	M3.5III	88	12 31 10	-57 06 47
Delta	2.79	-2.45	B2IV	364	12 15 09	-58 44 54
Epsilon	3.59	-0.63	K3III	228	12 21 22	-60 24 04