Crux few bright stars of importance lie between Crux and the pole itself, although the constellation Musca is fairly easily recognised immediately beneath Crux. A technique used in the field is to clench one's right fist and to view the cross, aligning the first knuckle with the axis of the cross. The tip of the thumb will indicate south. Argentine gauchos are well known for using it for night orientation in the vast Pampas and Patagonic regions. Within the constellation's borders, there are 49 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. The four main stars that form the asterism
Brazilian Space Agency of the Southern Cross family will be based on Russia's Angara vehicle and liquid-propellant engines. The first stage of the VLS Gama, Delta and Epsilon rockets was to be powered by a unit based on the RD-191 engine. The second stage, which will be the same for all the Southern Cross rockets, will be driven by an engine based on the Molniya rocket. The third stage will be a solid-propellant booster based on an upgraded version of the VLS-1. The program was named "Southern Cross" in reference to the Crux constellation, present on the flag of Brazil and composed of