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Southern Cross Constellation and the Golden Ratio

FFoster6

By FFoster6
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FFoster6

FFoster6

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Hi I'm student and just came across this observation so here goes...

I was studying the golden mean / golden proportion / Phi (whatever you want to call it) and I was looking at the familiar half section of a shell which is regularly used to explain the golden proportion for a personal logo. To stylize the shell I started putting dots along its spiral curve and then I noticed that the dots that were placed converging towards the center of the shell spiral looked like the Southern Cross constellation.

I got a pic of the Southern Cross and compared it to the proportions in the shell spiral and it looks as though its stars are exactly scaled as the dots that sit along the spiral of the shell/golden mean.

I would really appreciate if any of you (more experienced in maths and astronomy than me - probably all of you) in this forum could please check this out. I have uploaded a pic of the spiral shell with the dots.post-26673-0-52947700-1352197921_thumb.j

Maybe I haven't looked at this correctly but from what I see it sure is awesome. I love looking at the stars and everything around me. The universe and our world is beautifully made!

Thank you for any time/effort you could spare to provide some answers to this observation.

Fiona Foster

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Fiona and welcome to the forum. I'm not familiar with the structure of the southern cross from here in the the U.K but there are many members on here from your neck of the woods who I am sure will be able to comment on your concept. :smiley: Alternatively, have you tried "ICEINSPACE" which is an Australian amateur astronomy forum - you can view it here.

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

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FFoster6

FFoster6

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Hi Fiona and welcome to the forum. I'm not familiar with the structure of the southern cross from here in the the U.K but there are many members on here from your neck of the woods who I am sure will be able to comment on your concept. :smiley: Alternatively, have you tried "ICEINSPACE" which is an Australian amateur astronomy forum - you can view it here.

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

Hi - Thanks James - I will try ICEINSPACE as well.

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Alastair Rae

Alastair Rae

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I'm not an astrophysicist but a quick check on Wiklipedia indicates that the stars that make up the Crux asterism are all fairly different distances from Earth. So the apparent spiral would not look quite so regular if observed from somewhere else in our galaxy.

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VigdisVZ

VigdisVZ

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Hi and welcome.

The Crux is close to the golden mean, but as it has been pointed out the stars differ immensly in distance, and the asterism will change slightly in a few millenia as the stars move about on their business. There are many many more examples of the the golden mean in nature, not just as many in astronomy.

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Siriusmeg

Siriusmeg

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Hello and welcome from me too - fascinating idea that a coincidence of our view of the stars has produced that pattern. I've looked for the Fibonacci spiral (as in the shell) in natural forms but never the sky. Great to have you around :grin:

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Ags

Ags

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I suppose if the golden ratio is a form we find satisfying, it might underly many of the constellations we see in the sky - the stars are in random positions, but some of the groupings seem pleasing to our eye, so we call those groupings constellations.

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FFoster6

FFoster6

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I'm not an astrophysicist but a quick check on Wiklipedia indicates that the stars that make up the Crux asterism are all fairly different distances from Earth. So the apparent spiral would not look quite so regular if observed from somewhere else in our galaxy.

I understand, which makes it even more interesting...ff

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FFoster6

FFoster6

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Hi and welcome.

The Crux is close to the golden mean, but as it has been pointed out the stars differ immensly in distance, and the asterism will change slightly in a few millenia as the stars move about on their business. There are many many more examples of the the golden mean in nature, not just as many in astronomy.

Yeah I know - but I haven't seen it in the stars... until now!

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FFoster6

FFoster6

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Hello and welcome from me too - fascinating idea that a coincidence of our view of the stars has produced that pattern. I've looked for the Fibonacci spiral (as in the shell) in natural forms but never the sky. Great to have you around :grin:

Hi There - I know, isn't it fabulous! Mathematics accounts for coincidence... which makes it even more fascinating to me.ff

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