Why is Polaris called the Northern Star?

The night sky photographed near Sunshine Valley, BC.  17 min 4 sec exposure.

Polaris, also known as the North Star, sits atop the imaginary axis around 450 light years away.  You can see Polaris from almost any place in the Northern Hemisphere at night (without cloud cover or bright city lighting).  I photographed the star field on June 15, which was less than a week away from the Earth's Summer solstice.  The angle of the star in the sky changes as the Earth revolves around the sun due to the tilt in the Earth's axis.

Diagram explaining why Polaris is also called the North Star.  

Anywhere you stand in the Northern Hemisphere, you can see the North Star.  Finding it, if you are unfamiliar with the trick, is to use the two end ladle stars of the bit dipper and follow them in a line until you come to it.  There is a great website here that shows you how to find Polaris and how the stars around it seem to rotate from one's perspective on the Earth.

The North Star has been used for over a thousand years to aid in navigation.  Its presence occurs only in the evening and only when no clouds are occluding its visibility.  Polaris will not always be in its current position.  It has gotten closer to being in line with the Earth's axis over time and will line up perfectly with it sometime in the next 80 years.  Thousands of years from now, it will no longer be the North Star.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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