With yesterday's post in mind, Bannerman came across what turns out to be an older article on Space_dot_Com this morning, which reveals that the second brightest star in the southern cross is, in fact, a binary system. Beta Crucis, or Mimosa to give it’s common name, is classified as a blue-white giant, differing from our own Sun in that Beta Crucis is much, much larger and nearing the end of it’s main sequence phase. It’s partner, a smaller red giant star, orbits 8 AU,or eight times the distance which Earth orbits our Sun, from Beta Crucis.

This revelation raises a query in Bannerman’s mind. Should Australia amend the flag?