Does the North star move?

Question

There's a reall bright light in the sky, but not usually where the North Star is.

Is it the North star? or should I be worried?

Answer 1

no not the north star but r solar system doese.the north star wont all ways be the north star.in a few billion years our solar system will of moved enough to go to a new spot and the north star will become ?srry forgot name but itll go in a cycle.event itll come back to our north star now

Answer 2

The North Star moves in a tiny circle every night, but you'd need a telescope to see this. From your question, it sounds like you're observing a bright object, and the North Star is not very bright; if fact it's the 51st brightest star in the sky. Since this object is "not usually where the North Star is," then it definitely is NOT the North Star. My guess would be that you're seeing the planet Jupiter, which is currently the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun and Moon. If I knew where you were located, what time of night you're seeing it, and what direction and altitude it is at, then I could probably give you a positive identification.

Answer 3

Stars dont move, they rotate.   On another note the North Star is NOT the brightest star

Answer 4

It might be Venus.  Is it close to the horizon?

Answer 5

The North Star, Polaris, isn't exactly aligned with the rotational axis of the Earth. It's about a half degree off.  That's the width of the full moon. So Polaris rotates around true north. And, as time goes on, it is getting farther from true north.Some of the guys in the club are old enough to remember when it was significantly closer to true north, perhaps 60 years ago.

Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky, yet there are only a few stars that are brighter.  Things that are much brighter are usually further south, except airplanes and such.  To a good approximation, if it moves, it isn't in the heavens. If it doesn't move, it could still be a bright light on a tower.  If you move, you might be able to tell. I wouldn't be worried.

Answer 6

All stars are moving, but not that we can see in the time we have to observe them.  Polaris remains in about the same spot in the northern sky, and as the night progresses, the Big Dipper revolves around it.

Polaris (the North Star) is not particularly bright and there don't appear to be any bright stars or planets visible in the north tonight.  I don't think you need to be worried, though.  People see unidentified lights all the time.

Answer 7

Well, from our perspective, the north star seems to wobble around the north celestial pole.. But in reality all the stars in galaxy rotate around super massive blackhole in the center..

Answer 8

Jupiter is up, and is currently the brightest object in the sky.

Answer 9

The North Star moves, but at a rate so slow that it will take thousands of years before it moves across the entire sky.

Answer 10

No, this is not something you should worry about.  In general, I would consider the sky to be something beyond your control.

The North Star does not move, but because of the orbit of the earth it does appear in different locations in the sky throughout the year.

Answer 11

No, the North Star doesn't move.  And its not really very bright.

If you could tell us in what direction you are looking and what time, maybe we can help.

If you are looking south around local midnight, you are seeing the bright planet Jupiter.

Jupiter appears very bright in our night sky for about a month or so every year.

Nothing to worry about.

Answer 12

If you told us where it is in the sky, what time you saw it and where you live we might be able to identify the object you saw.

And no the North Star (Polaris) does not move such that you would notice it in a period less than say 50 years, and even then you would need a polar scope with a reticule to notice it.

And there is absolutely no need to be scared because of that or any other star or planet.