On the blog, from time to time, we discuss topics that have little or nothing to do with meteorology, but that can influence our lives at some point. So we look to the skies again, why? Because of the 6 thousand stars that can be seen with the naked eye from Earth, as long as it is a dark night without light pollution, one stands out: Polaris or Polaris. And not because it is the brightest, the largest or the closest to us, but because, unlike the rest, it always remains at the same point in the sky.
And is that while the rest of the stars move, Polaris can always be found by directing our eyes to the north, which has made it a point of reference for navigators in the northern hemisphere. Discover why the pole star is always fixed in the sky.
The explanation is that this star, located in the constellation Ursa Minor, is in a very special place, right on the axis of rotation of the Earth. To give us an idea, if space were a disk spinning on a record player, Polaris would be right in the center, always immobile while the rest of the stars move around us.
But this will not always be the case, as experts remind us that each year the Earth's axis of rotation shifts one degree, which will cause in a few years let's stop seeing Polaris in the fixed point of the sky.
How to find the Pole Star
The Pole Star is a star visible from the Northern Hemisphere that, as it always remains fixed in the same place, is very useful if we navigate or, if you have an astronomical telescope, it will also help you to adjust it correctly. But, How to find it easily?
Well, we said that it is located in Ursa Minor. You will find this constellation located of course in the north, so you should orient yourself in this direction. The stars that form it are somewhat dim, so It is important that you stay as far away as possible from light pollution.
A trick that will help you locate the Ursa Minor is by first finding the Ursa Major, which is roughly midway between the horizon and the middle of the sky. You will have to adjust the latitude based on your location. Anyway, we provide images in this article to make it much easier for you.
In the Big Dipper there are two stars called Dudhe and Merak, which are the ones that make up the "bowl." Both are known as Pole Star pointers. Once located, draw an imaginary line that is about five times the distance between Dudhe and Merak. Towards the end of this line you will find polaris, which is the first and brightest star in Ursa Minor.
At this point, if you are still curious what shape Ursa Minor is, look for two stars to form the rim of the bowl, which are Pherkad and Kochab. The first forms the upper part of the bowl, while the second the lower part. They are relatively easy to see with the naked eye.
Now, there will only be connect the dots. You have found the three brightest stars in Ursa Minor (Polaris, Perkhad and Kochab), and it only remains to locate the last ones that make up the rest of the bowl. You must locate two that form the handle, taking into account that Polaris is the end of it.
Ursa Minor will point in the opposite direction from Ursa Major and, in addition, you will see that while one appears to be "standing up," the other appears to be "upside down."
Use the compass to find Polaris
Another method to find the Pole Star is using a compass. It is faster, but you should know that magnetic North and polar do not point exactly the same place. Thus, we will take the compass and orient ourselves in a north direction. Once done, just look at the sky and look for the brightest star, which will be Polaris.
Will Polaris always be the guiding star in the Northern Hemisphere?
The truth is that, as strange as it may seem, in a few years, by 3500, Polaris will cede the "position" to another star named errai. By the year 6000, something more incredible will happen: you will have to decide between two: Alfirk or Cephei. In 7400 it will be Sadr, and by 13600 it will be Vega who will guide future generations. It should be noted that Vega was already the Pole Star in the past, fourteen thousand years ago.
And what about the Southern Hemisphere?
From some points of the Southern Hemisphere you can also see Polaris, but if you need guidance, it is much more recommended that you find the Southern Cross. To locate it, we will orient ourselves to the south, and we will look to the left for four very bright stars. Then, you will only have to join the one on the left with the one on the right, and the one on the top with the one on the south.
Was it interesting for you?
Hello people, I am writing here to publicize, that I have been monitoring the pole star for several days indicating the northern hemisphere, I have a record that on 29/01/2016, our pole star was not there ???? Someone will know why he was not ...
Hello José Antonio.
Earth is a planet that rotates on an axis, and the North Star is located on that axis. Thus, no matter how much the Earth turns, we will always see it fixed in the sky.
Now, the pole star, that is, the one that points to the north pole, has not always been the same. In fact, 4800 years ago the closest one was "Thuban", and the next one, by the year 3000, will be Errai. But we will always see it fixed in the sky.
A greeting.
And the movement of terrestrial translation what? Does it not make it vary where the axis of rotation points? Make a simple drawing on a paper and go drawing the axis, you will see that it must be pointing towards different points in space and that it is a movement in a single year of several orders of magnitude (299 million km in diameter) greater than the precession. That the axis does not change does not mean that it does not vary where that axis points. You have to remove the bandage at once
Monica Sanchez, if the earth rotates on its axis, and this star is to the north, you can tell me why southern countries can see it, if the curvature of the earth should not allow them to see it, thank you ... Not to mention that we see it all year ...
And since we are, if the sun is millions of times bigger than the sun, why not cover a strip of stars including the northern one, however we always see the same stars. throughout the year without the sun covering you for X MONTHS a strip of stars ... Curious, isn't it?
Those 299 million km in diameter of the orbit is negligible if you think that Polaris is 433,8 light years from Earth. Do the numbers, they are about 4105 Billion km.
That means that if you draw the Earth's orbit around the Sun with a diameter of about 3 millimeters, the Pole Star would be about 41 KILOMETERS above. The translational motion is negligible from that distance.
The earth is flat and the earth is stationary, it is already proven, official science does not want to accept it, they are based on theories without scientific verification
I have a doubt. The Earth that rotates on its axis and at its extreme north will be the geographic North, but this will be inclined during the different seasons of the year, so this will change the visual inclination with respect to the Pole Star. In summary: The Pole Star will not tell us the true North. Or am I wrong. How many degrees does it vary throughout the year?
Thanks in advance, Josu
The axis of rotation points continuously towards another point in the universe in its "CURVED" orbit around the Sun, that of the precession is a milonga that we swallow without question, look, the major axis of our orbit is separated at its ends about 299 million kilometers and logic dictates that in both points the axis of the earth does not vary but it does point towards whatever in the universe, but it cannot be the same point (star), since there is that brutal separation of millions of km, What is the precessional movement next to this barbarity? almost nothing and above all this does not happen in 26000 years, but every year (the precession slowly changes the position of polaris but the much greater orbital movement does not? it does not fit) and in all that time, 1 year, the polar star does not move at all its position, not to mention the other movement of the solar system. So you have to find another explanation, things are not like that. Do you know what I believe? It is an opinion of an old Heliocentric fanatic, Heliocentric fanatic, that there is no movement that is worth it, but it is not a mistake, it is not that, IT IS A DECEPTION
Wow, if there are people who question false doctrine, I completely agree with the questions asked by Lof, as simple as drawing on paper and realizing.
I believe that even humanity is not ready to remove the veil of the great deception. Regards Lof, I would love to share more information about it
Friends, this topic is very interesting because definitely this system does not fit, they have asked themselves why the rivers do not all flow towards the same place? They should all run to the south going another, why do we always see the same stars, already polar in the center and fixed if we are moving at incredible speeds through the universe? A little bit all objects is the vacuum we move towards the same place and at the same speed? These issues cause me doubts
The debate is interesting and complex to be able to resolve the issue, if the information they give us conforms precisely to reality or is nothing more than a quotation from another source of doubtful reputation. What we could say is real is that in a very remote time there were civilizations that handled technologies and knowledge about this planet, the sun and the stars, which we are only now rediscovering. This knowledge was buried and for about fifteen hundred years we believed that the earth was flat. Now we have another five hundred years of round earth and again the dictators or flat-earthers appear with their conspiracy theories and that everything is a bluff. And olle, it seems that they are also right, no one swallows the images of the trip to the moon and many other data provided. But do not forget, as it is above, it is below. The Science of Spirit.youtube.com
Hello… I think you have a mistake… polaris moves 1 degree every 71 years (approx) according to the precession movement and less than 0.001 a year by nutation….
and you have in writing that it moves one degree a year ...
Polaris is a beautiful star that I am studying, everyone will think that I am crazy because I am only 12 years old, but the things that almost no one pays attention to are the ones that catch my attention but I think I will achieve it. attention for its name and in china according to and investigated several companies with this name that catches my attention…
Polaris is a beautiful star that I am studying, everyone will think that I am crazy because I am only 12 years old, but the things that almost nobody pays attention to are the ones that catch my attention but I think I'm going to achieve it. his attention by name and in china according to and investigated there are several companies with this name that catches my attention… ..
But you still think that the earth is a sphere, I personally do not know what shape it has because I have never seen it with my own eyes but with the tests I have seen and calculations that have been made, it is surely not round. THAT SPACE EXISTS I would love to really know how things are and not suffer in this lie that we live and that they instill in us since we are born.
Hello dear friends, I think we all have different types of comments, let's not forget who was its creator, I am quite struck by his name POLARIS I don't understand much of the comments but we all come to the same of course, we should not believe in everything they tell us but So not everything they tell us is a lie because we have evidence and if they suffer from not understanding things, they lack a little knowledge ... GOD SAVE THEM ..
Hello dear friends, I think we all have different types of comments, let's not forget who its creator was, I am called by the fear of his name POLARIS I do not understand much of the comments but we all come to the same thing, of course, we should not believe in everything that we They say but not everything they tell us is a lie because we have evidence and if they suffer for not understanding things it is due to a lack of knowledge ... GOD SAVE THEM ..
… ¨To give us an idea, if space were a disk spinning on a record player, Polaris would be right in the center, always immobile while the rest of the stars move around us¨….
Are you saying that the earth is flat?
the earth would be like a speck of microdust.
the earth would be like a speck of microdust.
It is very clear that the sky itself testifies that the earth is not a sphere, it will be circular, it will be square, flat, but a sphere? It's crazy, we know that since we see the sky and walk, now I question everything, including the size and closeness between countries, also how close the sky is because on a trip I saw something shocking when the plane was in the highest part, it was as if the sun or moon was very close ... it was something I will never forget. .