We have people who live in the southern hemisphere personally confirming that they can see the Southern Cross and cannot see Polaris. Is that beyond an anecdote?
No... it's basically the definition of the word...
If one of them had the equipment to take a picture and post it would you consider that beyond an anecdote?
Yes, quite literally.
If you're north of the equator but south of a latitude of about 25 degrees, which is around say Hawaii and parts of northern Africa, you can still see the Southern Cross.
"But unlike us in the Southern Hemisphere, you won't see it all year round"
"If you were in Hawaii and looking south in May/June, you would see the cross, standing upright and pointing towards the South Pole," says Watson.
So why can't you see the Southern Cross any further north, or all year round for that matter?
The curvature of the Earth gets in the way."Constellations move in the sky as your latitude changes, so you see different parts of the sky for different lengths of time," explains Watson.
"That's why you see the Southern Cross all year long in the Southern Hemisphere, for only six months at the equator, and for shorter and shorter periods of time the further north you go."