page_title: Polar alignment
section_title: Aiming at the pole stars
hierarchical_section_title: Polar alignment / Alignment methods / Aiming at the pole stars
caption_attribution_description: English: Celestial South Pole around 2016 and bright stars around it. Right ascension 0h is up and each circle is 1 degree of declination from the pole.
context_page_description: Polar alignment is the act of aligning the rotational axis of a telescope's equatorial mount or a sundial's gnomon with a celestial pole to parallel Earth's axis.
context_section_description: In the Northern hemisphere, sighting Polaris the North Star is the usual procedure for aligning a telescope mount's polar axis parallel to the Earth's axis. Polaris is approximately three quarters of a degree from the North Celestial Pole,  and is easily seen by the naked eye.
  σ Octantis, sometimes known as the South Star, can be sighted in the Southern hemisphere to perform polar alignment. At magnitude +5.6, it is difficult for inexperienced observers to locate in the sky. Its declination of  -88° 57′ 23″ places it  1° 2′ 37" from the South Celestial Pole. An even closer star BQ Octantis of magnitude +6.9 lies 10' from the South Pole as of 2016. Although not visible to the naked eye, it is easily visible in most polar 'scopes. (It will lie its closest to the South Pole, namely 9',  in the year 2027.
caption: Celestial South Pole around 2016 and bright stars around it. Right ascension 0h is up and each circle is 1 degree of declination from the pole. The trapezoid top right is just visible to the naked eye.
exif: {}