When you make a purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can learn more on my Disclosure page.

Southern Hemisphere Constellations and Objects Of Interest

There are a total of 88 constellations in the night sky. A few constellations are unique to ‘down under’. Here, the sky is ‘upside down’ compared to the northern hemisphere and groups of stars display particular patterns of interest because of the orientation and cultural significance.

southern hemisphere night sky with southern cross and milky way
Southern hemisphere night sky with the Southern Cross and the Milky Way

I mentioned how the Moon appears upside down in the southern hemisphere when I wrote about viewing the Moon.

If you were to travel from northern America to Australia and look up at the night sky you’d be struck by the difference in the stars visible and how they are orientated.

Keep scrolling to the end and you’ll see the emu in the sky! and the southern hemisphere types of constellations with pictures.

Spotters often identify star patterns, or asterisms, in the night sky more readily than the constellations.

Asterism of the southern hemisphere. The Saucepan in Orion in the Southern Hemisphere compared to the northern is inverted
The Saucepan is an asterism in Orion recognized by Australian stargazers

An asterism is a group of stars appearing in a pattern that’s visible to current-day Earth viewers. It can sit within a single constellation or cross over two or more constellations.

Pleiades

Pleiades is known as The Seven Sisters. It’s a group of bright stars seen by the naked eye. Early stargazers recognized seven, the brightest stars in the star cluster of Pleiades, which modern technology tells us involves at least 144 celestial bodies.

Seven sisters, a constellation in the southern sky
The Seven Sisters, an asterism in the Pleiades star cluster

Several Aboriginal Australian tribes had their own cultural story about the Seven Sisters. At least 12 cultural stories exist but the most common name for the star group, going by legend, is Kungarangkulpa.

Observed from central Australia, the Pleiades star group rises above the horizon soon after sunset and keeps a low trajectory above the horizon. 

Indigenu.com

Asterisms Seen in the Southern Hemisphere

The below images show the patterns and stars that make up some established asterisms seen in the southern hemisphere. A list follows with where to look and the best time of year to see these and more.

The Teapot with the Milk Dipper (yellow lines)

The Teapot is in Sagittarius with the Milk Dipper, which comprises the Teapot’s handle and part of its lid. Winter / Spring is the best time to see these in the southern hemisphere in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The teapot and the milk dipper asterisms shown with Kaus Borealis Kaus Media and Kaus Australis
The Milk Dipper in the Teapot

The Water Jar (yellow lines)

The Water Jar is best seen in spring in the southern hemisphere. It is a Y-shaped asterism that is centered on ζ Aquarii within the constellation of Aquarius.

The Water Jar in Aquarius

The Winter Hexagon

The Winter Hexagon in Orion is best seen in summer in the southern hemisphere.

winter hexagon in Orion, with Sirius, Rigel Hyades Procyon and Pollux shown
The Winter Hexagon in Orion

The Pointers and Southern Cross

The Pointers are the stars Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri (Hadar). They are close to the Southern Cross (in the constellation of Crux). If you have trouble with whether you have the False Cross or the Southern Cross, look for the Pointers. They are the telltale sign of knowing.

The Pointers and the Southern Cross (Crux)

The Pointers are used together to find the celestial pole in the south. Extend the main axis of the Southern Cross in a line until it meets an imaginary line starting in the middle of the Pointers. This is the location of the celestial pole. Drop a line to the Earth and you have south on the horizon.

Southern Cross, the southern hemisphere constellation for finding south
Drawing by Nick Lamb

The False Cross

Sometimes mixed up with the Southern Cross, the False Cross is in the constellation of Carina, the Keel, and is best seen in Autumn.

False Cross asterism in Carina with Aspidiske and Markeb shown
The False Cross in Carina

List of asterisms to look for in the Southern Hemisphere

AsterismWhere to lookBest time
KiteIn BoötesWinter
Milk DipperWithin TeapotWinter/Spring
Teapot In SagittariusWinter/Spring
Great Square of PegasusIn PegasusSpring
Summer TriangleCygnus (for Deneb), Lyra (for Vega) and Aquila (for Altair)Spring
Circlet of PiscesIn PiscesSpring
Water JarY shape bottom of AquariusSpring
Seven SistersPleiades star cluster in TaurusSpring/Summer
Winter HexagonLook for the brightest star, Sirius, at the topSummer
The SaucepanIn OrionSummer
PointersNear the CruxAutumn
SickleIn LeoAutumn
False CrossCarina and VelaAutumn
Big DipperAbove northern horizonAutumn
Southern CrossIn Crux. Look for the PointersAutumn
Source: Astronomy Australia Guide

Constellations best seen in the southern hemisphere

Unless close to the equator, stargazers in the northern hemisphere would have trouble sighting these southern circumpolar constellations. The circumpolar constellations, shown in the table below, circle the southern celestial pole and are said to be visible between latitudes +20° and −90°. 

List of constellations in the southern sky (visible sth of +20º)

ConstellationCommon Name
CarinaThe Keel
CentaurusThe Centaur
CruxSouthern Cross
HydrusWater Serpent (m)
ApusBird of Paradise
ChamaeleonChamaeleon
VolansFlying Fish
MensaTable Mountain
DoradoSwordfish
MuscaFly
IndusIndian
Thanks to Constellation Guide for the data

Carina contains the 2nd brightest star in the sky, Canopus (Sirius is the brightest — see my star brightness chart).

Carina constellation (The Keel) shown as sitting above the horizon at twilight
The points of interest in the Carina constellation (The Keel)
Image credit: Alexxander.

Centaurus on the other hand is the 9th largest of all constellations and contains Alpha Centauri, the 3rd brightest star in the sky.

Centaurus constellation (The Centaur) shown as sitting above the horizon at twilight
The points of interest in the Centaurus constellation (The Centaur).
Image credit: Alexxander.

Dickinson in NightWatch describes how the southern hemisphere contains the best star clusters, globular clusters, and nebulas.

The Milky Way and The Emu in the Sky

The aboriginal people of Australia, from thousands of years ago, have recognized a constellation in the Milky Way, not from star patterns but from dark areas between the stars. The dark pattern depicts an emu, a large native bird of Australia.

an emu in the wild
Emu, a large flightless bird of Australia

This dark-sky constellation is best seen in June (Austral winter) in southern hemisphere skies away from city light pollution.

Can you see the dark emu in the sky in this image?

milky way section with the dark emu dark constellation

The emu is ‘flying’ across the sky with its head and legs out-stretched. The emu’s head is the Coal Sack (on the right in the image) and the legs are on the left. Just one of the interesting facts about the night sky.

Here’s an enhanced image…

the celestial emu, the dark emu, aka Gawarrgay, in an enhanced image showing the dark constellation in the milky way as seen from southern hemisphere

This dark-sky constellation goes by a few names, including the Celestial Emu. In native Gamilaraay speak, it’s called Gawarrgay.3

FAQs

Is Orion Visible In The Southern Hemisphere, To Those Living South Of The Equator?

Yes, but it appears upside down, and the asterism ‘The Saucepan’ is a more obvious star group known to backyard stargazers.

What About The Big Dipper?

Yes, some southern hemisphere watchers in the lower latitudes (the ones closer to the equator) will see The Big Dipper if they look above the northern horizon at particular times.

What Won’t You See In The Southern Hemisphere Sky?

You won’t see Polaris and you’ll have trouble seeing the northern circumpolar constellations. You won’t see the constellations the same way ‘up’ as in the northern hemisphere.

Why There Are Different Constellations In The Southern Hemisphere

From the southern hemisphere, the constellations appear inverted to how they look in the northern hemisphere sky. The reason is that the Earth is spherical, and you are looking at the sky from a ‘down under’ perspective.

Bottom line

Observing the night sky in the southern hemisphere gives a different perspective for stargazers.

Info sources

  1. Nightwatch, a Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson (available at Amazon – affiliate). This book contains sky charts and has a spring binding so is practical for use on location.
  2. Astronomy Australia Year Guide to the Night Sky (affiliate link) by Wallace, Dawes, and Northfield includes all-sky maps and much more information for stargazing down under
  3. Astronomy: Sky Country (2022) (affiliate link) by Noon and De Napoli shares the first knowledge of the night skies of Australia.

I adapted the line images of the asterisms from Sky Guide app.