It was 1:30 AM. After being awake since 3:00 AM the day before and traveling 2,000 miles to Guatemala, I was exhausted. And in just a few short hours, I would be putting in long hours of grueling physical labor under the hot Guatemalan sun for the orphanage we were going to serve.

But I wanted to see the Southern Cross. And I knew that I would need to wake up at 1:30 to see the Cross, when it is passing the meridian along the southern horizon.

I first heard of the Southern Cross after reading about it in the book The Gospel in the Stars by Joseph Seiss. Although this book has some inaccuracies about the constellations and the myths behind them, I still found it to be a fun read. In the middle of my reading, Jospeh Siess decided to talk about the Southern Cross:

Humboldt speaks with enthusiasm of this cross set in the stars of the southern sky. It was one of the reveries of his youth, he tells us, to be able to gaze upon that celestial wonder, and that it was painful to him to think of letting go the hope of some time beholding it. Such was his enthusiasm on the subject that he says he could not raise his eyes toward the starry vault without thinking of the Cross of the South. And when he afterward saw it, it was with deep personal emotion, warmly shared, by such of the crew as had lived in those southern regions ; and the more on their part because religiously attached, as Humboldt himself was not, to a constellation “the form of which recalls the sign of the faith planted by their ancestors in the deserts of the New World.”
(The Gospel in the Stars, pg. 37)

As I started to learn more about astronomy, I started to think about the Southern Cross. How cool would it be to see it?

Here’s the problem: I live 40º north of the equator. I live so far north that I cannot see the Southern Cross. The only way to fix this is to travel south—and quite a distance south, too.

Enter Guatemala. I had the opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip through my job. After praying about it and feeling called to go, I then learned that I would be able to see the Southern Cross, from Guatemala, with my very own eyes.

So here I am at 1:30 AM on Monday, April 3, 2023. It was at this time that I got to gaze, with my very own eyes, at the Southern Cross. It did not disappoint.

*My first photograph of the Southern Cross barely peeking over the roof with my iPhone 12 Pro.*

And that is when it hit me. There is a whole other world of astronomy out there! We truly have such a small and limited perspective! I am very thankful to see the Southern Cross with my own eyes. Not many people will ever see what I saw.

Seeing the Southern Cross in the night sky once again reminded me of the grace of God, given to mankind! Jospeh Siess wrote:

Hence the doctrine of the Scriptures, that Christ’s life was made an offering for sin—He who knew no sin consenting to be made a curse for us, that we might be made righteous through Him. He not only felt the cross, enduring its agony and shame, but He died upon it—died for us, that we might have eternal redemption through His blood.
But an important element in the mysterious transaction was, that He sacrificed Himself. Men in their wickedness killed Him, but it was He who gave Himself into their hands to do it. Without this voluntariness and self-command in the matter the great redeeming virtue of His sacrifice would be wanting. Hence He was particular to say as he went to the cross, “I lay down My life for the sheep… No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:15-18) Hence He is preached as the great High Priest passed into the heavens “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,” having “appeared once in the end of the world to put away sin by sacrificing Himself” (Hebrews 9:11, 26).
(The Gospel in the Stars, pgs 39-40)

After seeing the Southern Cross, it could only invoke a spirit of worship and thankfulness to our Savior and King, who created the heavens, and laid down His life… for us. The Same One who created the Southern Cross (Colossians 1:16) would one day become a curse on the cross… for us.

Less than a year later, I was newly married. My wife and I decided to honeymoon in Hawaii. Hawaii happens to be far enough south that we could see the Southern Cross! So, it was with great pleasure that I was able to wake my wife up at 5:00 AM (much to her disagreement at first) and walk her outside to a tiny corner of the Airbnb property we were staying at, and show her the Southern Cross shining through the sliver of trees.

*The Southern Cross visible early in the morning in Hawaii. My wife saw it for the first time here!*

The Southern Cross is a very important and sentimental constellation to me. The Cross is the reason why I have hope, because God demonstrated His own love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I hope to one day go to the Southern Hemisphere and photograph the Southern Cross. If the Lord wills, I would love to add a second entry on this blog about the Southern Cross. But even if I never get to, I still have hope because Christ has reconciled me through the cross. What about you?

Visual Awe’s logo is the Southern Cross. I chose this because the Cross gives me hope. And I want this website and my hobby to glorify God and point as many people as possible to the cross where we can experience grace—His grace.

For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven
—Colossians 1:19-23

Seeing the Southern Cross

Observing My First Supernova

Photographing Comet Leonard