The North Star
"The North Star (Pole Star)...!!!
It's a beautiful star.....somewhat isolated in the sky, and has important roles to play: in astronomy and navigation, not the least...
All the visible night sky stars have beautiful names, mostly Arabic in origin. Our North Star is more correctly called Polaris; its importance has been utilised for many a century…
Astronomy!
The stars surround us, in all directions, and at IMMENSE distances. As our Earth turns sedately in about 24 hours, so on an evening the stars appear to slowly rotate around us. But the axis of our spinning planet points in a direction in Space straight towards Polaris. The result is that all the night sky stars appear to revolve around a motionless North Star…
Navigation!
A motionless Polaris is a good thing for direction finding!
Achieve your goals: Find the North Star. It’s easy to find...
For so many, and throughout history, an instant guide in navigation...For all who live in the Northern Hemisphere, it has always been a primary navigational tool. Unless you live at the North Pole (when it would be overhead, at the zenith of your sky), Polaris will always be in the Northern part of your sky, just face North...it’s always there…
More so: measuring its angle above your horizon will give you your latitude on Earth
Here at Rossall School, Lancashire, the latitude is about 54 degrees north: and sure enough, Polaris is due north, and about ‘halfway up the sky’…
So find it... Sail towards it... and voyage to the North…
Find it..... Walk away from it.... and trek to the South...
All stars are beautiful... The Night Sky is beautiful... LOOK at it... WATCH it... ENJOY it...
'It's FREE TO VIEW'...!!!! "
Dr N Lister F. R. A. S.
