Editing Crux (section)

===Stars===
{{further|List of stars in Crux}}
[[File:Constellation Crux.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|The constellation Crux as it can be seen by the naked eye]]
[[File:Southern Cross with clouds.jpg|thumb|Crux with clouds, from Cape Town]]

Within the constellation's borders, there are 49 stars brighter than or equal to [[apparent magnitude]] 6.5.{{efn|1=Objects of magnitude 6.5 are among the faintest visible to the unaided eye in suburban-rural transition night skies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y|title=The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale|last=Bortle|first=John E.|date=February 2001|work=[[Sky & Telescope]]|publisher=Sky Publishing Corporation|access-date=29 November 2014|archive-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331202746/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/3304011.html?page=1&c=y|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}<ref name=tirionconst/> The four main stars that form the asterism are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta Crucis.
* [[α Crucis]] or Acrux is a triple star 321 light-years from Earth. A rich blue in colour, with a visual [[apparent magnitude|magnitude]] 0.8 to the unaided eye, it has two close components of a similar magnitude, 1.3 and 1.8 respectively, plus another much wider component of the 5th magnitude. The two close components are resolved in a small amateur telescope and the wide component is readily visible in a pair of binoculars.
* [[β Crucis]] or Mimosa is a blue-hued giant star of magnitude 1.3, and lies 353 light-years from Earth. It is a [[Beta Cephei]]-type [[variable star]] with a variation of less than 0.1 magnitudes.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=134–135}}
* [[γ Crucis]] or Gacrux is an optical [[double star]]. The primary is a red-hued giant star of magnitude 1.6, 88 light-years from Earth, and is one of the closest [[red giant]]s to Earth. Its secondary component is magnitude 6.5, 264 light-years from Earth.
* [[δ Crucis]] (Imai) is a magnitude 2.8 blue-white hued star about 345 light-years from Earth.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=134–135}} Like Mimosa it is a Beta Cepheid variable.<ref name=bagnall/>

There is also a fifth star, that is often included with the Southern Cross.
* [[ε Crucis]] (Ginan) is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 3.6, 228 light-years from Earth.

There are several other naked-eye stars within the borders of Crux, especially:
* [[Iota Crucis]] is a visual [[double star]] 125 light-years from Earth. The primary is an orange-hued giant of magnitude 4.6 and the secondary at magnitude 9.5.
* [[Mu Crucis]] or Mu<sup>1,2</sup> Crucis is a wide double star where the components are about 370 light-years from Earth. Equally blue-white in colour, the components are magnitude 4.0 and 5.1 respectively, and are easily divisible in small amateur telescopes or large binoculars.{{sfn|Ridpath|Tirion|2017|pp=134–135}}