Near the Southern Cross, as is the case near the Northern Cross, lies a remarkable dark blot which stands out sharply against the silvery path of the Milky Way. This dark body is 130 times larger than the area of the full moon and is much more impressive than the one seen in the north. It is said that superstitious sailors used to shudder and cross themselves because it lay so close to the Cross, but in those days, dark nebulæ were thought to be holes in the heavens and the combination was suggestive of what happened to sailors who were good, or who failed to be good. Not far from the Southern Cross is a telescopic treasure which has long been enjoyed by astronomers. This treasure is a cluster of colored stars so delicately beautiful that the loveliest of rubies, emeralds and sapphires seem to have been filled with fire and turned to stars. There are over a hundred of these sparkling jewels in a space of only one forty-eighth of a square degree. What a delight it would be to suddenly uncover such a wonderful casket in our treasure hunt among the stars! But imagine the pleasure in watching the sky from the surface of a planet swinging in a field of such stars. Quite a thrill was experienced at the thought of a daytime tinted by a colored sun, or even two colored suns, but now imagine a night-time adorned with large and glowing pink, green, orange, red and yellow stars! "their skies flowered with stars, Violet, rose, or pearl-hued or soft blue, Golden or green, the light now blended, now Alternate." --_Bailey._ Just below the Southern Cross lie two stars which outrival the twin stars of Castor and Pollux. [Figure 132: The two pointers on the forefeet of Centaurus, the Centaur, and the Southern Cross.] These two stars are often called the "southern pointers" because they point out the Southern Cross. They belong to the constellation of the Centaur, Alpha Centauri being noted as lying closer to the earth than any other star. The light we call Alpha Centauri comes from two suns instead of one. These suns are separated from each other by a distance of 2,000 million miles and gravitate one round the other in a time equalling 81 of our years. Above the Cross shines Canopus on the stern of Argo, the ship of the Argonauts. Canopus ranks next to Sirius in brightness. The bright stars of Orion and the Scorpion are each in their season seen high in the sky. Thus the appearance of the heavens would seem quite strange to one who had come from the north. THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS