Which constellation is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations by area? Crux is the answer.
Crux occupies about 68.4 square degrees, making it the smallest officially defined constellation. Its name is Latin for “cross,” and its four principal stars form the familiar Southern Cross, one of the most recognizable patterns in the southern sky. The constellation lies along the visible band of the Milky Way.
The four dominant stars are Alpha Crucis, or Acrux; Beta Crucis, or Mimosa; Gamma Crucis, or Gacrux; and Delta Crucis, or Imai. All four are brighter than magnitude 2.8, which helps make Crux conspicuous despite its compact size. Epsilon Crucis, or Ginan, adds a fifth star within the cross-shaped asterism.
Crux is sometimes confused with the False Cross, a larger pattern made from stars in Carina and Vela. Unlike the False Cross, Crux has the nearby Pointer Stars that help observers locate the south celestial pole. The IAU adopted “Cru” as its three-letter abbreviation in 1922, with its official boundaries fixed in 1930.