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Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98, [3] it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to the naked eye at ...
Currently, there is no South Pole Star like Polaris, the so-called North Star. Sigma Octantis is the closest near naked-eye star to the south celestial pole, but at apparent magnitude 5.47 it is barely visible on a clear night , making it less useful for casual navigational or astronomy alignment purposes.
The star Polaris, often called either the "Pole Star" or the "North Star", is treated specially due to its proximity to the north celestial pole. When navigating in the Northern Hemisphere , a simple and quick technique can be used with Polaris to determine the observers latitude or, for larger maritime vessels can be used to calculate any ...
The north celestial pole currently is within one degree of the bright star Polaris (named from the Latin stella polaris, meaning "pole star"). This makes Polaris, colloquially known as the "North Star", useful for navigation in the Northern Hemisphere: not only is it always above the north point of the horizon, but its altitude angle is always ...
The space program is named after Polaris, a constellation of three stars more commonly known as the North Star – a guiding navigational light throughout human history.
Polaris, the North Star, is found by imagining a line from Merak (β) to Dubhe (α) and then extending it for five times the distance between the two Pointers. Extending a line from Megrez (δ) to Phecda (γ), on the inside of the bowl, leads to Regulus (α Leonis) and Alphard (α Hydrae). A mnemonic for this is "A hole in the bowl will leak on ...
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The stars Merak (β Ursae Majoris) and Dubhe (α Ursae Majoris) are known as the "pointer stars" because they are helpful for finding Polaris, also known as the North Star or Pole Star. By visually tracing a line from Merak through Dubhe (1 unit) and continuing for 5 units, one's eye will land on Polaris, accurately indicating true north.