Starwatch: how to find the south galactic pole

Finding the south galactic pole (SGP) is not spectacular but it is an intellectually satisfying piece of celestial geography. Many of us are familiar with the Milky Way, that misty band of starlight that girdles the sky. It represents the plane of our galaxy, which comprises a giant whorl of billions of stars that includes the sun. The SGP is straight “down” from that plane, looking out of the galaxy. Given clear skies and an unencumbered southern horizon, you can locate it this week. The chart shows the view at 21:00GMT on 19 November. First find the moon, which is 86% illuminated, heading towards full on Friday, and about 40° in altitude. Then look straight down, and stop three quarters of the way to the horizon. The SGP will be at its maximum altitude of around 10°. No star marks the position. It sits in the faint southern constellation of Sculptor, the sculptor’s studio, hence its identification is intellectual rather than sensorial, but there are other things to see. Mars will be shining red over in the south-west, and half way between the moon and SGP, lie the stars of Cetus, the whale.