Why do we call it the "North Star" when it isn't, in what we on Earth, consider "North?"

Question

Why do we call it the "North Star" when it isn't, in what we on Earth, consider "North?"

Answer 1

uh, yes it is. it's close enough to be useful.

Answer 2

The north star, Polaris, is so named because it lies almost directly above Earth's north pole. If you took a camera to the north pole, set it up on a tripod and pointed it straight up, then took a time exposure of a few hours duration, you'd get a picture of a lot of arc-shaped star trails, all going around one little star right at the center of the photo. That's Polaris. I don't know why you think that it isn't in the north, because it definitely is.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap96120...

Answer 3

I wonder where you got the idea that the North Star, Polaris, is "not North."  It is almost exactly at the north celestial pole.  Perhaps you need to discuss this with your science teacher or spend some time in the library looking it up.

Answer 4

The norrh star is in the north direction.

Answer 5

The North(ern) Star is the prominent pole star that lies closest in the sky to the north celestial pole, and which appears (approximately) directly overhead to an observer at the Earth's North Pole. The current North Star is Polaris, which is 430 light-years from Earth, and lies about two-thirds of a degree from the pole at the end of the "bob" of the Little Dipper asterism in the constellation Ursa Minor. Polaris has a visual magnitude of 1.97 (second magnitude). (Some people mistakenly think that Polaris is the brightest star in the night sky. This title belongs to Sirius, and there are many other stars also brighter than Polaris.) A common method for locating Polaris in the sky is to use the "pointer stars" which are the two stars furthest from the "handle" of the easily spotted Big Dipper (part of the constellation Ursa Major).

Answer 6

Do you live on southern hemisphere?

Answer 7

The North Star's subpoint is N 89º 16.8'  

That is 43.2 nautical miles from the North Pole.  

From most inhabited areas of the Northern Hemisphere the North Star appears very nearly in line with due north.  

When the North Star passes over your meridian  (or your meridian ± 180º) its azimuth is due north.

Answer 8

Two reasons:

1) It's close enough to actual north to work in navagation.

2) It's constant.  It's the only star in the northern sky that doesn't move across the sky as the earth spins.  This is because it is the same direction as the tilt of the earth.

Other: Realize, also, that magnetic north is also not True North.  This is why you see conversion tables for different North's on maps, especially military maps.

Answer 9

is this a trick question?

Answer 10

The North Star, Polaris, is within one degree of the north celestial pole.

The azimuth angle of the north celestial pole is zero---that is to say, due north.  So if you were looking at a plumb line that passed through Polaris, the intersection of that plumb line with the horizon would be within one degree of due north.

Magnetic north is a different story, however....

Answer 11

i really dont under stand u. u should have gotten into detail.

Answer 12

It is so close to North that we call it the North Star. It is the brightest star in that region, and a great help for navigation.

Answer 13

Actually, if you follow the North Star on Earth, you'll be going in a northerly direction. Until you get to the very top of the Earth, and then I think it's not as exact about direction. It's not exact because the Earth wobbles a bit and our North Star will slowly start "pointing" in another direction.

Answer 14

Polaris is called the North Star because the north pole end of the earths axis is presently pointing to it. But the earths axis wobbles.

5000 years ago, the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. 5000 years from now the North star would be Alpha Cephei in Cepheus. 7000 years after it will be Vega in Lyra. Then 9000 years after it will be Thuban again and after another 5000 years it will  be back to Polaris.