Before revision: upNorthern Hemisphere circumpolar stars around Polaris, with a long-exposure producing a star trail photo A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body; for Earth these 2 points are called the celestial poles .
After revision: upNorthern Hemisphere circumpolar stars around Polaris, with a long-exposure producing a star trail photo A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles .