How to Find the South Celestial Pole

Using The Local Latitude

• 1

  Find the local latitude. You can find this on a map (including online map services) or in your local weather forecast.

• 2

  Mark the latitude on a piece of notepaper. Take it outside and find a flat surface that's level with the horizon (such as an outdoor table or a porch).  Set the protractor on the flat surface with the 90-degree
  marker pointed straight up at the sky.

• 3

  Using the compass, find due south, and point the edge of the protractor that reads 0 degrees in that direction. Note the point on the protractor where the angle matches the latitude.

• 4

  Imagine a straight line heading from this angle to the point where it meets the sky. This is the Southern Celestial Pole.

Using the Surrounding Stars

• 5

  Locate the constellations Musca and Crux in the sky. Musca consists of six stars that are usually drawn as part of an insect (the name means "fly" in Latin), while Crux consists of four stars that form a crucifix. Be careful not to confuse the Southern Cross with the nearby (and similarly shaped) False Cross---the real Cross includes three extremely bright stars, whereas the stars of the False Cross are relatively dim.

• 6

  Locate the Southern Pointer stars. These are bright two stars a short distance from both Crux and Musca that connect in a diagonal line nearly parallel with the Crux crossbeam. To make sure you've found the right stars, trace a line between the pointers, bisect it, and trace a second line at a perpendicular angle from the first line you created, beginning at the point of bisection. If your stars are the Pointers, your line will intersect with Achernar, a large and extremely bright star a short distance from the Celestial Pole.

• 7

  Double-check the location of Crux by comparing it to Musca. OptCorp points out that since Musca lies directly beneath the Southern Cross, it can help you further distinguish it from the False Cross---check to make sure that both constellations are nearby before you trace a line to the celestial Pole.

• 8

  Trace a line parallel to Crux's longer (upright) beam from the bottom of the cross. The point where this line intersects with the perpendicular line you just traced from the Southern Pointers is the location of the Celestial Pole.