Why is the pole star not visible from the southern hemisphere? The reason the Pole Star, also known as Polaris, is not visible from the Southern Hemisphere, is because the Earth is blocking your view. The Earth is a sphere, and so the Southern Hemisphere, defined as the half from the Equator to the South Pole, is viewing all the stars and galaxies that are visible in that part of the sky. For example the equivalent of the Pole star in the Southern Hemisphere is the constellation Crux, or Southern Cross. We in the Northern Hemisphere can't see Crux unless we get to near the Equator and Crux would be on the southern horizon. Just can't get around the fact that the Earth is a sphere.