Can you locate the so-called “North Star” or “North Star”? Actually called Polaris, it is one of the best-known stars in the night sky, but few people can locate it; it is visible at all times to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere.
Polaris is a star located approximately 433 light-years from the solar star and is a special star for navigators.
Here’s everything you want to know about the North Star, called Polaris, and how to easily locate it from your garden tonight, with your eyes alone:
Polaris, known as the North Star, lies almost directly above Earth’s north pole. Since the Earth’s northern axis exits directly into it, it does not appear to move in the night sky. Never. That’s why it’s so useful to find it. If you can identify it at any time in the afternoon, you’ll know which direction it’s north.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Polaris is the brightest star in the night sky. It’s not. It’s merely the 48th brightest. The brightest is Sirius, the “Dog Star,” which rises in November.
Polaris is not a single star either. It is a three-star system, at the bright spot you see the combined brightness of Polaris Aa (a yellow supergiant star) and the smaller Polaris Ab orbiting each other and in combination orbiting Polaris B.
Polaris lies in a domain of the night sky free of bright stars. Here’s how to get the “North Star” without problems:
Polaris is the tip of a “Little Dipper,” a shape of stars that’s always opposite the Big Dipper. Also called Ursa Minor, all its other stars are fainter than the Big Dipper’s, so you’ll need a very dark sky to see it.
A trail of stars over the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Domain near Las Vegas, Nevada
Since it appears to remain still, as viewed from the same place on our rotating planet, the entire northern sky appears to revolve around Polaris.
Polaris appears to be higher in the sky as you travel north. At the North Pole, Polaris is right above it. From the equator, it is dead on the northern horizon.
Have you ever noticed a “star trail” photograph that shows stars traveling across the sky in giant concentric circles? This symbol works from the northern hemisphere if you point a camera at Polaris.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Pick up my books Stargazing in 2024, A Stargazing Program For Beginners, and When Is The Next Eclipse?
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