Hoisting stars: a review of official flags displaying constellations

Two of my favorite hobbies are stargazing and vexillology, the study of flags, so today I'm putting them together.

The flags of US states and cities that are inspired by Spanish flags
Cross of Burgundy: origin and history of the oldest of the flags of Spain

Stars are an element that appears on many official flags around the world, with different meanings. However, there are some flags that not only show stars, but also constellations. Some of these flags, logically, are among my favorites. Let's review them here.

Nations

There are five national flags that bear constellations, and curiously, all five feature the same constellation: the Crux or Southern Cross.

AUSTRALIA

It is undoubtedly the most famous of all the flags featuring constellations. It was approved on September 3, 1901, although its current design dates back to 1908. The stars on its right side correspond to the Southern Cross. Specifically, we see the seven-pointed stars Gamma Crucis (also called Gacrux, above), Beta Crucis (also called Becrux or Mimosa, on the left), Delta Crucis (Imai, on the right) and Alpha Crucis (Acrux, below). The small five-pointed star is Epsilon Crucis (Ginan).

The large seven-pointed star on the left does not represent any real star. It is known as the Commonwealth Star or Federation Star and represents the six federated states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania) and Papua, which at the time of adoption of this flag was part of Australia.

In addition to the national flag, Australia has a naval ensign (used by ships of its Navy) of the same design but with altered colours, using a white background (following the style of the British naval ensign) and blue stars. Australia also has a civilian ensign, used by its non-military ships, which is the same as the national flag but with a red background.

BRAZIL

It is by far the official flag with the most constellations, and one of the most original flags in the world in terms of its design. It was approved on November 19, 1889. All the constellations appear on the celestial sphere in the center of the flag. They are: the Southern Cross (bottom center), Canis Major (on the left), Hydra (above the Southern Cross), Trianglelum Australe (below the Southern Cross), and Scorpio (Scorpius, the constellation with the most stars on the flag -eight in total- which appears on the right).

In addition, there are a few single stars: Procyon (from the constellation Canis Minoris, on the left), Canopus (to the right of Canis Maior), Spica (the only one on the ribbon with the words "Ordem e Progresso") and Sigma Octantis (the smallest one on the flag, at the bottom). Each star on the flag represents a state in Brazil, while Sigma Octantis represents the Federal District.

NEW ZEALAND

It was adopted on March 24, 1902, a few months after the Australian flag, which it closely resembles. The proportions are the same as those of the Australian flag (1:2) and the colors are almost identical (there is a slight difference in the red: Australia uses Pantone 185 C and New Zealand uses 186 C). The only differences in the design are that the stars are all five-pointed and appear in red with a white border, and the Epsilon Crucis and Commonwealth Star are missing.

When choosing their naval flag (top) and their civil flag (bottom), the New Zealanders also did something similar to the Australians, except that the naval flag has red stars instead of blue ones.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Its flag was approved on 1 July 1971, following its independence from Australia. Like the Australian flag, it features the Southern Cross, but with five-pointed stars instead of seven. Curiously, the design was made by a 15-year-old girl, Susan Karike, who was the winner of the competition organised to provide the new country with a flag. The figure we see in the red part is a Raggi bird of paradise.

SAMOA

Samoa, called Western Samoa until 1997, was a territory of New Zealand between 1914 and 1962. Its flag was adopted on 24 February 1949. It shows the Southern Cross as on the New Zealand flag, but in white.

National subdivisions

Let's now look at some state, regional and territorial flags that include constellations.

Alaska

This is one of my favorite American flags. It was established on July 9, 1927, and was designed by 13-year-old Benny Benson, who won a contest to design a flag for what was then the Territory of Alaska (Alaska did not become a US state until January 3, 1959). The flag depicts the Big Dipper (Ursa Maior), although the five-pointed star in the upper right is the North Star (from the constellation Ursa Minor, or Ursae Minoris).

Chimbu

This province of Papua New Guinea includes the Southern Cross in its lower left corner.

Coquimbo

This region of Chile has the only flag that shows the Southern Cross with circles, in its upper left corner. The flag was adopted in 2013.

Christmas Island

Christmas Island is a territory of Australia. It is located in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia and 1,550 kilometres from the mainland of Australia. Its flag was established on 14 April 1986 and made official in 2003. It shows the Southern Cross, as it appears on the flag of Australia.

Cocos Islands

This archipelago, also known as the Keeling Islands, belongs to Australia and is the westernmost territory of this country. They are located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia. Made up of two coral atolls, they have an area of ​​14.2 square kilometers and a population of 593 inhabitants. Its flag was established on April 6, 2004. The constellation is the Southern Cross, as it appears on the Australian flag, but in yellow. The flag includes the Crescent Moon since Islam is the majority religion of its inhabitants (these islands belonged to Singapore until 1955). The palm tree gives us an idea of ​​the vegetation of the islands.

Los Lagos

This region of Chile adopted its flag on October 23, 2013. It shows the Southern Cross as on the flag of New Zealand, but with white stars.

East New Britain

This province of Papua New Guinea includes the four main stars of the Southern Cross in its upper right corner, in a simplified version to symbolize the national flag of that country.

New Ireland

This province of Papua New Guinea includes the five stars of the Southern Cross as they appear on that country's national flag.

Gulf Province

This province of Papua New Guinea includes in its central part the five stars of the Southern Cross as they appear on the national flag of that country.

Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena

This region of Chile, the southernmost in the country, adopted its official flag on February 5, 1997. It shows the Southern Cross as on the Australian flag, but very tilted and with five-pointed stars.

Australian Capital Territory

It was approved in 1993, adopting the colours of the city of Canberra. The constellation is the Southern Cross, shown the same way as on the national flag of Australia. The coat of arms on the left is that of the city of Canberra.

Northern Territory

It was approved on 1 July 1978 and is, along with the Cocos Islands, the only flag of an Australian territory that does not include the colours blue and red. In addition, it is one of the few flags in the world that includes the colour brown, specifically ochre, which beautifully captures the landscapes of this territory. The constellation is the Southern Cross, but with some differences from the Australian flag: Delta Crucis appears with six points and Alpha Crucis appears with eight points, instead of seven. The figure on the right is the Sturt Desert Rose, which has been the emblem of this territory since 1961.

Tierra del Fuego

This province of Argentina adopted its official flag on November 9, 1999. It shows the Southern Cross as on the Australian flag, but tilted and with five-pointed stars.

Tokelau

Tokelau is an archipelago that is part of New Zealand. It has about 1,500 inhabitants and is located in the Pacific Ocean, about 3,200 kilometers northwest of the North Island of New Zealand. Its flag was adopted on September 7, 2009 and shows the Southern Cross as it appears on the New Zealand flag, but with white stars. In addition to these stars, the flag includes a typical canoe from those islands.

Victoria

It is the oldest Australian flag to feature the Southern Cross, even older than the national flag, as the flag of Victoria was established in 1877. Its current design dates from 1953 and shows the Southern Cross as on the Australian flag, but the Delta Crucis appears with six points instead of seven. The object above the constellation is St Edward's Crown, used at coronations by the British monarchy. The flag of Victoria is the only Australian state flag to feature a constellation.

---

Images: Wikimedia.