Polaris: The North Star – Alpha Ursae Minoris | Constellation Guide by admin Polaris, also known as the North Star, Alpha Ursae Minoris or Star of Arcady, is the brightest star in Ursa Minor constellation. Polaris is notable for currently being the closest bright star to the North Celestial Pole. The pole marks true north, which makes the North Star important in navigation, as the star’s elevation above the horizon closely matches the observer’s latitude. The North Star has a reputation for being bright, but it is not among the top 10 or even the top 40 brightest stars in the night sky. It is only the 48th brightest star, and owes its reputation to the fact that it is the nearest relatively bright (second magnitude) star to the North Celestial Pole. Polaris is also the star that marks the end of the Little Dipper ‘s handle. It is approximately 434 light years or 133 parsecs distant from Earth.

Polaris goes by many different names, including the Northern Star, Pole Star, Lodestar, Guiding Star, and Cynosūra, derived from the Greek κυνόσουρα for “the dog’s tail.” In ancient Greek times, Ursa Minor was taken to represent a dog, not a bear. The close view to the Polaris trinary star system. Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Evans (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and H. Bond (STScI) Most of the names used for Alpha Ursae Minoris (Alpha UMi) reflect the star’s role as the pole star. The name Polaris itself is an ellipsis for Stella Polaris, the Latin for “pole star.” In Latin, the star is also known as Stella Maris, or “the sea star.“ In medieval Islamic astronomy, Polaris was known as Mismar, meaning “needle” or “nail,” al-kaukab al-shamaliyy or “the north star,” and al-kutb al-shamaliyy or “the northern axle (or spindle).” Alpha Ursae Minoris is slightly off the pole, making a circle around it roughly 1.5 degrees across.

As a result of the 26,000 year precession of the Earth’s axis, the celestial pole is currently moving closer to Polaris. Once it reaches the separation of 14 arc minutes around the year 2105, the pole will start to move away from the star again. Eventually, another star will take over as the navigational benchmark for true north. LOCATION How to find the North Star Because the Little Dipper is not bright enough to be seen from areas where there is too much light pollution, the easiest way to locate the North Star is by using the stars of the bigger and brighter Big Dipper in the nearby Ursa Major constellation . Polaris, the North Star, is found by imagining a line from Merak (β) to Dubhe (α) and then extending it for five times the distance after Dubhe (α).

Legend: α UMa (Dubhe), β UMa (Merak), γ UMa (Phecda), δ UMa (Megrez), ε UMa (Alioth), ζ UMa (Mizar), η UMa (Alkaid) and α Ursae Minoris (Polaris), image: Alex Zelenko The stars Dubhe and Merak in Ursa Major , also known as the Pointers, are the easiest way to find Polaris. These are the two bright stars that outline the outer part of the bowl of the Big Dipper . An imaginary line through these stars leads directly to the North Star. Polaris is located at about five times the distance between the Pointer stars. It is the first bright star in that direction. The Big Dipper completes a circle around Polaris every 23 hours and 56 minutes, with the Pointer stars always pointing toward the North Star. The only nearby bright stars that are readily seen are Kochab and Pherkad, which are also part of the Little Dipper . The two stars are known as the “Guardians of the Pole” because they appear to march around the North Star like sentries.

Polaris marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper , or the tip of the tail of the Smaller Bear . The stars of the Little Dipper are relatively faint and can only be seen without binoculars in good conditions, with clear skies, no light pollution, and little or no moonlight. Pole Star Polaris lies almost in a direct line with the Earth’s rotation axis, which is to say almost exactly “above” the North Pole. The star is almost motionless, with all the other stars in the northern sky seemingly rotating around it. The North Star never rises or sets at night, but stays in almost the same position above the northern horizon throughout the year, while other stars appear to circle around it. For observers at the North Pole, the star lies directly overhead. For observers in New York, it stands 41 degrees above the northern horizon, which corresponds to the latitude of the city. For observers at the equator, Polaris sits right on the horizon. The star clmbs higher in the sky the farther north you go and drops below the horizon for observers in the southern hemisphere.

Polaris star sytem, image: NASA Polaris was used as the pole star by navigators at least from Late Antiquity. It is currently 0.7° away from the pole and revolves around it in a small circle about one and a half degrees in diameter. Polaris wasn’t always the North Star. Around the year 2500 BC, the celestial pole was near Thuban, located in the constellation Draco . Around the year 400 BC, the pole was closer to Kochab, Beta Ursae Minoris, than it was to Alpha UMi. Around the year 14,000, the much brighter Vega in Lyra constellation will be the nearest star to the pole. Polaris will make its closest approach to the pole on March 24, 2100, when it will come within only 27.15 arc minutes of it. After the 21st century, the celestial pole will move away from Polaris and, by the 41st century, it will come near Gamma Cephei in Cepheus constellation .

Unlike the North Celestial Pole, the pole in the southern hemisphere doesn’t have a bright star close enough to be called the pole star, nor will it have one for the next 2,000 years. The nearest star to the south pole is Sigma Octantis, located in Octans constellation . With a visual magnitude of 5.45, it can barely be seen without binoculars, which doesn’t make it very useful in navigation. STAR SYSTEM Polaris is not a single star, but a multiple star system. The main component, Alpha Ursae Minoris Aa, is an evolved yellow supergiant star belonging to the spectral class F7. It is 2,500 times more luminous than the Sun, 4.5 times more massive, and has a radius 46 times that of the Sun. The star is classified as a Cepheid variable, showing pulsations over a period of about four days. Polaris A, image: NASA Polaris A is a classic Population I Cepheid variable. It is the brightest Cepheid variable in the sky. Cepheid variables are stars that astronomers use to measure distances to galaxies and clusters.

The North Star’s brightness varies by 0.03 magnitudes over a period of 3.97 days. Its variability had been theorized since 1852, but was not confirmed until 1911, when the Danish astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung confirmed the variation. Polaris A’s amplitude and period of the variations have not remained the same since discovery. Before 1963, the amplitude was more than 0.1 magnitude and slowly decreasing. It decreased quite rapidly after 1966 until it reached 0.05 magnitude, and has been erratic but stayed neared that range since. The period of the variations increased more or less steadily until 1963, when it remained constant from 3 years, and then started increasing again. Currently, the measurements show a steady increase of 3.2 seconds per year. Diagram showing how to find the star Polaris by following the pointer stars in the Big Dipper. Alpha Ursae Minoris Aa has two companions. The one closer to the supergiant, designated Alpha Ursae Minoris Ab, is a dwarf belonging to the spectral class F7.

It lies at an average distance of 17 astronomical units and has an orbital period of about 29.6 years. The star has a highly eccentric orbit that takes it between 27 and 6.7 astronomical units from the primary component. The star further away from the supergiant, designated Alpha Ursae Minoris B, lies 18 arc seconds away. It is a dwarf star with the stellar classification F3 1.4. It is at least 2,400 astronomical units away from Polaris A and has an orbital period of at least 42,000 years. Polaris B was discovered by William Herschel in 1780. It can be seen in a modest telescope. Polaris also has two more distant companions, Alpha UMi C and Alpha UMi D. Polaris is the brightest in a small semicircle of stars known as the “Engagement Ring.” The stars lie within a field which is six degrees wide. The North Celestial Pole lies roughly halfway between Polaris and Lambda UMi. Polaris – Alpha Ursae Minoris. Image: NASA/ESA/HST, G.

Bacon (STScI) The binary nature of Polaris A was confirmed in 1929 after an examination of the star’s spectrum. All three components in the star system were revealed in Hubble images in January 2006. Polaris may be 2.5 times brighter today than when the Greek astronomer Ptolemy observed the star, according to a recent research led by Scott Engle of Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The research, based on historical records and presented in a poster session at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., in January 2014, has revealed that the star has changed from third to second magnitude since Ptolemy’s times. Engle and his team used historic measurements of the star by Ptolemy in the year 137, the Persian astronomer Al Sufi in 964, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe in the 16th century, and others.

Polaris: Alpha Ursae Minoris Distance: 325 – 425 light years (99 – 129.5 parsecs) Coordinates: Alpha Ursae Minoris A – 02h 31m 49.09s (right ascension), +89°15’50.8” (declination) Alpha Ursae Minoris B – 02h 30m 41.63s (right ascension), +89°15’38.1” (declination) Apparent magnitude: 1.98v (Alpha Ursae Minoris Aa), 9.2 (Alpha Ursae Minoris Ab), 8.7 (Alpha Ursae Minoris B) Absolute magnitude: -3.6 (Alpha UMi Aa), 3.6 (Alpha UMi Ab), 3.1 (Alpha UMi B) Spectral class: F7Ib (Alpha UMi Aa), F6V (Alpha UMi Ab), F3V (Alpha UMi B) Variable type: Classical Cepheid (Alpha UMi Aa) Mass: 4.5 solar masses (

Alpha UMi Aa), 1.26 (Alpha UMi Ab), 1.39 (Alpha UMi B) Radius: 46±3 solar radii (Alpha UMi Aa), 1.04 (Alpha UMi Ab), 1.38 (Alpha UMi B) Luminosity: 2,500 solar luminosities (Alpha UMi Aa), 3 (Alpha UMi Ab), 3.9 (Alpha UMi B) Temperature: 6,015 K (Alpha Umi Aa), 6,900 (Alpha UMi B) Designations: Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, North Star, 1 Ursae Minoris, Cynosura, Alruccabah, Star of Arcady.

Navigatoria, Yilduz, Mismar, HR 424, BD +88°8, HD 8890, SAO 308, FK5 907, GC 2243, ADS 1477, CCDM 02319+8915, HIP 11767 Polaris location. Image: Torsten Bronger Sky Tellers - The Myths, the Magic, and the Mysteries of the Universe About Polaris How Do I Find Polaris? Polaris is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the group of stars that make up the “Little Dipper.” Polaris is the star in the end of the Little Dipper handle. Often, however, the Little Dipper is not very bright and can be challenging to find. Polaris is easiest to find by locating the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major, or Big Bear. These stars form a small bowl with a long handle.

Follow the stars of the Big Dipper from the handle to the side of the bowl, to the bowl bottom, and up the other side; the two stars forming the second side, Dubhe and Merak, point to Polaris. Take the distance between Dubhe and Merak; Polaris is the bright star that sits about five times that distance away. Polaris actually is part of a binary (two) star system. Of the stars nearest to our Sun, about half are known to be in multiple systems (two or more stars). Between 5 and 10 percent of the stars we can observe are “visible binaries” — the star companions can be observed with a telescope. These systems reveal a great deal of information. Because of their interactions, astronomers can determine the gravitational pull exerted by the companions and calculate the mass of the individual stars. Polaris is helpful to astronomers in another way; it is a variable star. Polaris pulsates, a change we detect as a pattern of dimming and brightening. This pulsation helps astronomers calculate celestial distances. Why Doesn't Polaris Move? Polaris is very distant from Earth, and located in a position very near Earth's north celestial pole.

Earth rotates once a day on its axis, an imaginary line that passes through Earth from its north pole to its south pole. If that imaginary line — the axis — is projected into space above the north pole, it points to Earth's north celestial pole. As the Earth spins on its axis, it also “spins around” the north celestial pole. Polaris, located almost exactly at the north celestial pole, the center of spin, stays in the same place, while stars farther away from the north celestial pole can be seen to move in a wider circle around Polaris as viewed from Earth during its daily rotation. Polaris actually lies just a short distance away from where Earth's axis points. Polaris is located about 1 degree off to the side of the north celestial pole, so Polaris does move a little, tracing a very small arc in the night sky, around which the other visible stars make wider circles. This picture of the night sky above Hawaii was taken by leaving the camera shutter open for a long time. The picture captures the apparent movement of the stars caused by Earth's rotation on its axis. Polaris is the star in the center of the star field; it shows essentially no movement.

Earth's axis points almost directly to Polaris, so this star is observed to show the least movement. The other stars appear to trace arcs of movement because of Earth's spin on its axis. Photograph by Richard J. Wainscoat The North Star: How to Find Polaris Start Over | More Quizzes Polaris Physical Facts Polaris is located at a distance of 434 light-years from Earth and has luminosity nearly 4,000 times that of our sun. Polaris shines at 2nd magnitude. On this astronomers’ scale, smaller numbers represent brighter objects, with the brightest stars and planets in the night sky at around magnitude zero or even negative magnitudes. The North Star it is a “pulsing” star, a Cepheid variable , which appears to vary in brightness ever so slightly – only one tenth of a magnitude – over a time frame of just under four days. If you have a small telescope and train it on Polaris, you just might notice a tiny companion star (called Polaris B) shining at 9th magnitude with a pale bluish tint.

This companion was first sighted by Sir William Herschel in 1780 (just a year later, Herschel would discover the planet Uranus). Astronomers believe that the two stars – A and B – are separated by about 2,400 astronomical units – one astronomical unit (a.u.) being the average distance of the sun to the Earth. The orbital period of the two stars may number in the many thousands of years. In 1929, by studying the spectrum of Polaris, a third companion star (Polaris C) was discovered. This one, a white dwarf, lies only 18.5 a.u. from Polaris A (about the same distance of the planet Uranus from our sun). Its extreme closeness to the far more brilliant Polaris A explains why it went unseen for so long. Using the North Star as a Guide Exactly where you see Polaris in your northern sky depends on your latitude. From New York it stands 41 degrees above the northern horizon, which also corresponds to the latitude of New York.

Since 10 degrees is roughly equal to your clenched fist held at arm’s length, from New York Polaris would appear to stand about “four fists” above the northern horizon. At the North Pole, you would find it overhead. At the equator, Polaris would appear to sit right on the horizon. So if you travel to the north, the North Star climbs progressively higher the farther north you go. When you head south, the star drops lower and ultimately disappears once you cross the equator and head into the Southern Hemisphere. And always keep this fact in mind: Polaris is more accurate than any compass. A compass is subject to periodic variations and can only show you the direction of the lines of the strongest magnetic force for a particular spot and for a particular time. But even Polaris isn’t positioned exactly due north. Only about 0.7 degree separates Polaris from the pivot point directly in the north – called the North Celestial Pole – around which the stars go daily. In case you’re wondering, 0.7 degree amounts to less than the apparent width of 1½ full moons.

Guardians of the Pole Aside from the North Star the two stars at the front of the Little Dipper’s bowl are the only ones readily seen. These two are often referred to as the “Guardians of the Pole” because they appear to march around Polaris like sentries; the nearest conspicuously bright stars to the celestial pole except for Polaris itself. Columbus mentioned these stars in the log of his famous journey across the ocean and many other navigators have found them useful in measuring the hour of the night and their place upon the sea by their position relative to Polaris. The brightest Guardian is Kochab, a second magnitude star with an orange hue. The other Guardian goes by an old Arabian name, Pherkad – the “Dim One of the Two Calves.” Pherkad is indeed dimmer than Kochab, shining at third magnitude. Not the only North Star There is a famous Shakespeare quote that has Julius Caesar stating, “I am constant as the northern star.” But in reality, Polaris is not really constant, at least over a time span measured over centuries, for it will not always be our North Star.

Like a spinning top that wobbles due to a force called torque, our spinning earth is also subject to torque that is caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. As a result the earth’s axis wobbles (called precession), and as a consequence describes a circle in the sky; the gradual change in the direction of the earth’s axis in space. So the north celestial pole shifts as the centuries go by. Polaris is actually still drawing closer to the pole and on March 24, 2100, it will be as close to it as it ever will come, just 27.15 arc-minutes or slightly less than the Moon’s apparent diameter. Since it takes about 25,800-years for the Earth’s axis to complete a single wobble, different stars have become the North Star at different times. For example, the star Thuban in the constellation of Draco, the Dragon was the North Star around the year 2600 B.C., during the age of the Pyramid Builders of ancient Egypt. The brightest Guardian, Kochab, was the North Star at the time of Plato, around 400 BC.

And around the year 14,000, earth’s axis will point reasonably close to the star Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky; perhaps our future descendants will confer the title of North Star on it. Sources and More Reading: Polaris is the North Star | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Polaris is the North Star By Bruce McClure in Brightest Stars | May 24, 2016 The entire northern sky wheels around Polaris. Some assume it’s the brightest star in the sky. In fact, Polaris ranks only 50th in brightness. Ken Christison captured these glorious star trails around Polaris, the North Star. See more photos from Ken Christison. The North Star or Pole Star – aka Polaris – is famous for holding nearly still in our sky while the entire northern sky moves around it. That’s because it’s located nearly at the north celestial pole, the point around which the entire northern sky turns. Polaris marks the way due north. As you face Polaris and stretch your arms sideways, your right hand points due east, and your left hand points due west. About-face of Polaris steers you due south.

Polaris is not the brightest star in the nighttime sky, as is commonly believed. It’s only about 50th brightest. But you can find it easily, and, once you do, you’ll see it shining in the northern sky every night, from N. Hemisphere locations. Follow the links below to learn more about Polaris. Polaris science Polaris on a stormy night. Spotting the North Star – and in that way knowing the direction north – has gladdened the heart of many a lost traveler. Photo by EarthSky Facebook friend Jv Noriega in the Philippines. If you can find the Big Dipper, you can find Polaris. The two outer stars in the bowl of the Dipper – Dubhe and Merak – always point to the North Star. Polaris marks the end of the Handle of the Little Dipper. Chart for early autumn evening Image via EarthSky Tonight How to see Polaris. This star is bright enough to spot even from some suburban skies. In a dark country sky, even when the full moon obscures a good deal of the starry heavens, the North Star is relatively easy to see.

That fact has made this star a boon to travelers throughout the Northern Hemisphere, both over land and sea. Finding Polaris means you know the direction north. Best of all, Polaris is readily found by using the prominent group of stars known as the Big Dipper , called the Plough in the UK, which may be the Northern Hemisphere’s most famous star pattern. To locate Polaris, all you have to do is to find the Big Dipper pointer stars Dubhe and Merak. These two stars outline the outer part of the Big Dipper’s bowl. Simply draw a line from Merak through Dubhe, and go about 5 times the Merak/Dubhe distance to Polaris. The Big Dipper, like a great big hour hand, goes full circle around Polaris in one day. More specifically, the Big Dipper circles Polaris in a counter-clockwise direction in 23 hours and 56 minutes. Although the Big Dipper travels around Polaris all night long, the Big Dipper pointer stars always point to Polaris on any day of the year, and at any time of the night. Polaris marks the center of Nature’s grandest celestial clock!

By the way, Polaris is famous for more reasons than one. It’s famous for hardly moving while the other stars wheel around it. And it’s famous for marking the end of the Little Dipper ‘s handle. The Little Dipper is tougher to spot in the night sky than the Big Dipper. But if you use the Big Dipper’s pointer stars to locate Polaris, you’ll be one step closer to seeing the Little Dipper. As you travel northward, Polaris climbs higher in the sky. If you go as far north as the North Pole, you’ll see Polaris directly overhead. As you travel south, Polaris drops closer to the northern horizon. If you get as far as the equator, Polaris sinks to the horizon. South of the equator, Polaris drops out of the sky. A planisphere is virtually indispensable for beginning stargazers. Order your EarthSky planisphere today. When you take a time exposure photograph of the northern sky (or, in this case, the northeast), you see all the stars are moving around Polaris, which is on the left in this image. This image by Taro Yamamoto via an article on long exposure star trail photography. History of Polaris.

Polaris hasn’t always been the North Star and won’t remain the North Star forever. For example, a famous star called Thuban, in the constellation Draco the Dragon, was the North Star when the Egyptians built the pyramids . But our present Polaris is a good North Star because it’s the sky’s 50th brightest star. So it’s noticeable in the sky. It served well as the North Star, for example, when the Europeans first sailed across the Atlantic over five centuries ago. And Polaris will continue its reign as the North Star for many centuries to come. It will align most closely with the north celestial pole – the point in the sky directly above Earth’s north rotational axis – on March 24, 2100. The computational wizard Jean Meeus figures Polaris will be 27’09” (0.4525o) from the north celestial pole at that time (a little less than the angular diameter of the moon when at its farthest from Earth). Meanwhile, there is no visible star marking the celestial pole in the Southern Hemisphere.

What’s more, the Southern Hemisphere won’t see a pole star appreciably close to the south celestial pole for another 2,000 years. At one time in human history, people literally depended on their lucky stars for their lives and livelihood. Luckily, they could trust the Big Dipper and the North Star to guide them. People could sail the seas and cross the trackless deserts without getting lost. When slavery existed in the United States, slaves counted on the Big Dipper (which they called the Drinking Gourd) to show them the North Star, lighting their way to the free states and Canada. While being honored as the North Star, Polaris enjoys the title of Lodestar and Cynosure as well. Does Mars have a North Star? An artist’s illustration of Polaris and its two known companion stars via the Hubble News Center. Polaris science. The single point of light that we see as Polaris is actually a triple star system, or three stars orbiting a common center of mass. The primary star, Polaris A, is a supergiant with about six times the mass of our sun. A close companion, Polaris Ab, orbits 2 billion miles from Polaris.

Much farther away, near the top of the illustration at right, is the third companion Polaris B. Polaris B is located approximately 240 billion miles from Polaris A. The two companion stars are the same temperature as Polaris A, but are dwarf stars. Astronomers estimate Polaris’ distance at 430 light-years . Considering the distance, Polaris must be a respectably luminous star. According to the star aficianado, Jim Kaler, Polaris is a yellow supergiant star shining with the luminosity of 2500 suns. Polaris is also the closest and brightest Cepheid variable star – a type of star that astronomers use to figure distances to star clusters and galaxies. Polaris’ position is RA: 2h 31m 48.7s, dec: +89° 15′ 51″ Star Constellations - Facts About Constellations | Solarsystemquick.com Star Constellations The familiar constellation of Orion, the three stars in the center are known as Orion's belt. Star Constellation Facts A simple definition of a constellation is a group of stars which form a pattern in the night sky.

The official definition is an area of the sky with defined boundaries, all stars and any other objects within that boundary are considered part of the constellation. There are 88 official constellations which are recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Some constellations are only visible in the northern hemisphere, while others are only visible in the southern hemisphere. Constellations that are visible in both hemispheres may appear upside down in the southern hemisphere. A few constellations can be viewed all year long but most are seasonal and can only be viewed at certain times of the year. Distant galaxies and nebulae also form parts of constellations. Asterisms are groups of stars that form patterns but are actually part of one or multiple constellations, the Big Dipper is the most famous example of an asterism. The sun is the only known star in our galaxy which is not part of a constellation. History of Constellations More than half of modern day constellations are based on the writings of Ptolemy. For as long as mankind has walked the Earth it is likely we have always recognized patterns formed by stars in the night sky.

Some European cave paintings that date back over 10,000 years bare the marks of star formations that are familiar to us even to this day. The earliest official records of constellations were made more than 3,000 years ago by the Babylonians, an ancient civilization based in what is now modern day Iraq. The twelve signs of the zodiac are based on their observations and those of their predecessors. In the 4th century BC these zodiacal constellations and others recorded by the Babylonians were introduced into ancient Greek culture by the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus. Some five hundred years later the Greco-Roman scientist Claudius Ptolemy listed 48 constellations in his book Almagest, these constellations and the names he gave them exist to this day and are the basis for all the 88 official constellations listed by the International Astronomical Union. Understanding Star Charts To find constellations you’ll need a star chart, these give you a snapshot of what the night sky will look like at any one time and at any one location.

The star chart above shows you how the night sky will look above most of the United States at 8 pm in late January. These maps may seem rather baffling and confusing at first but they’re actually very simple to use. To simplify matters the chart above only shows constellations but normally they will also indicate prominent stars, galaxies, nebulae and planets. The first thing you may notice is that east and west seem to be the wrong way round, but if you imagine holding the chart above your head, which is how they are designed to be used, it becomes apparent this is not the case. The outer edge of the chart indicates the horizon, so the further the stars are from the edge the higher they will be in the sky. The center of the chart shows the stars and constellations that will be directly overhead, so the map above shows you that the constellations of Auriga, Taurus and Perseus will be directly above you at that time. To find your bearings it is helpful to find Polaris, the star which always points north.

First find the famous Big Dipper, which is part of the constellation Ursa Major and visible all year in the Northern hemisphere, draw an imaginary line through the outer two stars of the Big Dipper’s bowl and you will come to Polaris, which is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor. In the Southern hemisphere it is helpful to find the Southern Cross, which always points south, this is done by drawing a line through the bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. Once you have found your bearings you can start searching out constellations and the objects they contain. Using the chart above if you look south you’ll notice the constellation of Orion, perhaps the most recognizable constellation of them all. As well as the Orion nebula the constellation also contains the bright supergiant stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. Overhead and to the west you’ll find the Andromeda constellation which contains the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object that can be viewed with the naked eye. There are many other fascinating objects to look out for and a star chart will be essential in guiding you around the night sky.

Stars do not stay fixed in the night sky, as the Earth rotates they change position, as a result the night sky will look different at midnight from what it did several hours before or after. Most constellations are also seasonal, meaning that ones that are visible in winter may not be visible in summer and vice-versa, so sky charts usually come in seasonal versions. Constellations may also be drawn slightly differently on each chart and it’s also worth noting that there are separate charts for the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Selected Constellations Polaris Magnitude: 2.1 The history of the star: Polaris Alpha (α) Ursa Minor , Polaris, is a star in the tip of the tail of the Little Bear. Its name comes to us from Latin Stella Polaris, meaning "Pole Star". Polaris is our Pole star, situated at the north pole it never sets and as Wikipedia explains Polaris stands almost motionless on the sky, and all the stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation and for astrometry.

Other stars along this circle were the pole star in the past and will be again in the future, including Thuban and Vega. Polaris has been close to the actual position of the north pole for over 1000 years. Polaris has long been an important star to sailors, caravans of old winding their way over the desert by night and others who navigated their way by the stars. Located almost directly overhead as seen from the North Pole, it is situated at the tip of the tail of the Little Bear, Ursa Minor and the brightest star of that constellation. Perhaps more than any star other than the Sun; Polaris has been regarded as the most important star in the heavens. It has been known by many names in the past; "the Pathway" "the Pointer" - indicating the way; "Navel of the World", "Gate of Heaven", "Hub of the Cosmos", "the Highest Peak of the World Mountain", "Lodestar" "the Steering Star" "the Ship Star" and Stella Maris "Star of the Sea". Greek navigators of old called Polaris; Kynosoura, which means "the Dog's Tail".

The name came into our English language as Cynosure, which means "an object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration" or "Something that serves to guide". The proximity of the stars of the two bears ( Ursa Major and Ursa Minor ) to the North Celestial Pole gave the impression that they were wheeling around this point, pulling perhaps a plough behind them, tilling the heavenly fields and driven on by Bootes the Bear Driver who chases or herds the Bears around Polaris. Another version of this story has it that the oxen were tied to the polar axis and were driven on by Bootes, assisted by his two dogs Canes Venatici , "in order that the rotations of the heavens should never cease." In past ages, whichever star held the position of Pole Star was worshipped as the star of that age and temples were built to them in ancient Egypt. Polaris is now the star of our own age. The planet, Uranus, was discovered one degree longitude away from this star. A good essay on Polaris by Lance Carlyle Carter can be read on this website: from p.453 of Star Names , Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889.

Phoenice was the early Greek name, borrowed from its constellation, for this "lovely northern light" and the "most practically useful star in the heavens"; but for many centuries it has been Stella Polaris, the Pole-star, or simply Polaris,— The Italian astronomer Riccioli's (1598–1671) Pollaris; this position seeming to be first recognized in literature by Dante when he wrote in the Paradiso: The mouth imagine of the horn That in the point beginneth of the axis Round about which the primal wheel revolves.

Euclid (circa 300 B.C.) said in his Phainomena: A star is visible between the Bears ( Ursa Major and Ursa Minor ), not changing its place, but always revolving upon itself; Hipparchos (circa 160-120 B.C.), that the pole was "in a vacant spot forming a quadrangle with three other stars," both of these calling this (Greek) Polos, the (Latin) Polus of Lucan (39-65A.D.), Ovid (43 B.C.-18?A.D.), and other classical Latins; and Euphratean observers had called their pole-star Pul, or Bil.

But, although other astronomical writers used these words for some individual star, there is no certainty as to which was intended, for it should be remembered that during many millenniums the polar point has gradually been approaching our pole-star, which 2000 years ago was far removed from it,— in Hipparchos' (circa 160-120 B.C.) time 12°24' away according to his own statement quoted by Marinus of Tyre and cited by the second-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Miss Clerke writes as to this: {p.454} "The entire millennium before the Christian era may count for an interregnum as regards Pole-stars.

Alpha (α) Draco ( Thuban ) had ceased to exercise that office; Alruccabah (Polaris) had not yet assumed it." Kochab (the beta, β, star of Ursa Minor ), and kappa (κ) of Draco , at different times in that epoch, may have been considered as this pole-star, the last a 4th-magnitude about 10° distant from the true pole; although the 5th-magnitude b, 4° away in Alexandrian-Greek astronomer Eratosthenes' (276?-196 B.C.) day, perhaps was intended. And this is not unlikely, as this inconspicuous object, for some reason, was sufficiently noteworthy among the Chinese to bear the title How Kung, the Empress. The (Greek) aei phanes, "ever visible," of the 5th-century Stobaeus may have referred to our Polaris, then about 7° distant from the pole.

The fact that the Polaris of his day did not exactly mark the pole was noted by Pytheas, the Greek astronomer and navigator of Massilia, the modern Marseilles, about 320 B.C.; and till this discovery the belief was prevalent that the heavenly pole was absolutely fixed. In none of the foregoing cases' does a single star seem to be mentioned as a guide in navigation; but as knowledge in this art increased, our alpha (α) took the place of its constellation as Stella Maris, a title that Saint Jerome, in his Onomasticon, applied to the Virgin Mary; there, however, with no marine, or stellar, connection. But a star, being always a symbol of sanctity, was peculiarly so of the holiest of women, so that this title of the chief star of heaven was adopted as one interpretation of her Jewish name Miriam. The 17th century German astronomer Bayer's la Tramontana (a classical name for a northern wind, a cold north wind in Italy, from "trans-montanus, 'of a mountain'".

The English word "tramontane" means "a person who lives beyond the mountains", "a foreigner; a stranger) was well known before his day, for Eden translated from the First Decade, printed in 1511, "cauled by the Italians Tramontana"; and Jehan de Mandeville ("syr Iohn Maundauile") more than a century before the discovery of our continent (America), in his statement of his belief in the sphericity of the earth, wrote of it as "the Sterre Transmontane, that is clept the Sterre of the See, that is unmevable, and that is toward the Northe, that we clepen the Lode Sterre." One derivation of this transmontane is from the fact that the nations along the Mediterranean saw the star beyond their northern mountain boundary; and the word appears in the popular saying, current among the Latin races, of a man's "losing his Tramontane" when one had lost his bearings. Another earlier and much more probable origin, however, is from a title for the constellation already alluded to.

Similarly the Finns know Polaris as Taehti, the Star at the Top of the Heavenly Mountain. Anglo-Saxons of the 10th century said that it was the Scip-steorra, the Ship-star; Eden, "cauled of the Spanyardes Nortes"; the 17th century German astronomer Bayer, Angel Stern, the {p.455} Pivot Star, and the Latin Navigatoria; while it was the Steering Star to early English navigators, who "knew no North, but when the Pole Star shone".

Andrew Marvell, strangely the common friend of John Milton and King Charles II, said: "By night the northern star their way directs;" and Thomas Moore wrote, in his Light of the Haram: "that star, on starry nights The seaman singles from the sky To steer his bark for ever by." Thus, as the leading star, it became the Loadstar, or Lodestar, of early English authors; Spenser saying: "The pilot can no loadstar see," and Shakespeare's Helena, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, tells Hermia "Your eyes are lodestars." Milton's Comus had the much quoted Our Star of Arcady, Or Tyrian Cynosure; and L'Allegro : The Cynosure of neighb'ring eyes,— a designation of Polaris which has everywhere become common; while Cinosura and Cynosura regularly appeared in scientific works of the 17th and 18th centuries; but this was one of the ancients' titles for the whole of Ursa Minor , and never, by them, limited to the lucida (brightest star in a constellation).

The Star of Arcady either referred to Arcadia, the earthly home of Kallisto (identified with Ursa Major ), or to Arcas, her son(identified with Ursa Minor ), transferred to the skies by his father Jove, when ignorantly about to slay his mother after her transformation. The poet, however, followed a common error in locating Arcas here, for he properly was identified with Bootes . The Chinese had several names for it,— Pih Keih; Ta Shin; Tien Hwang Ta Ti, the Great Imperial Ruler of Heaven, the circumpolar stars circling around it in homage, the whole forming the Purple Subtle Enclosure; and Ti or Ti Tso, the Emperor's Seat, this last also being borne by alpha (α) Hercules . And it was Tow Kwei, as with Ursa Major , from its square of stars, beta (β Merak ), gamma (γ Phecda ), zeta (ζ Mizar ), and eta (η Alkaid ). Its first use in navigation is ascribed to their emperor Hong Ti, or Hwang Ti, a grandson of Noah!

However this may be, it seems certain that some polar star, or constellation, has been used in China from remote antiquity. In earliest Northern India the star nearest the pole was known as Grahadhara, the Pivot of the Planets, representing the great god Dhruva, and the Persian astronomer Al Biruni (973-1048 A.D.) said that among the Hindus of his time it was Dhruva himself. It was an object of their worship, as our Polaris is to-day among the Mandaeans along the Tigris and lower Euphrates. The Arabs knew Polaris as Al Kiblah, "because it is the star least distant from the pole," although then 5° away, and helped them, in any strange location distant from an established place of worship, to know the points {p.457} of the compass and thus the direction of Mecca and its Ka'bah ( Kaaba ), towards which every good Muslim must turn his head in prayer.

They also called it Al Jadi, the Young He Goat, which subsequently degenerated to Juddah, as Niebuhr heard it a century ago, and known in Desert story as Giedi, the slayer of the dead man on the Bier of Ursa Major . Wetzstein says that in Damascus it is called Mismar, a Needle or Nail. As marking the north pole it bore the latter's title, Al Kutb al Shamaliyy, the Northern Axle, or Spindle, from Al Kutb, the Pin fixed in the under stone of a mill around which the upper stone turns; and this same thought later appeared in English poetry, as in Marlowe's History of Doctor Faustus, where he says of the stars that All jointly move upon one axletree Whose terminine is term'd the world's wide pole.

The Arabian astronomers knew it as Al Kaukab2 al Shamaliyy, [Allen notes: Kaukab is the same as the Assyrian and Chaldaean word Kakkab, the Hebrew Kohabh; this last also the fighting name of Bar Cochab, the Son of a Star, who was the leader of the second revolt of the Jews in 132-135, during the reign of Hadrian, his shekels bearing a star over a tetrastyle temple. The name was variously written, but correctly as Bar Coziba, from his birthplace.] the Star of the North, an appellation perhaps given by their nomad ancestors to beta (β Kochab ) as nearer the pole in their time. The 13th century Persian astronomical writer Al Kazwini mentioned the belief of the common people that a fixed contemplation of Al Kaukab would cure itching of the eyelids,— ophthalmia, then, as now, being the prevalent disease of the Desert.

The Alfonsine Tables of 1521 have Alrucaba et est Stella polaris sive Polus; and the 17th century German astronomer Bayer, Alruccabah seu Ruccabah Ismaelitis; but this was shared with the next star, as also with the constellation. The Turks know it as Yilduz, the Star par excellence; and have a story that its light was concealed for a time after their capture of Constantinople. Polaris is 1° 14' distant from the exact pole ( Wikipedia says 42′ away as of 2006), which lies on the straight line drawn from Polaris to zeta (ζ) Ursa Major ( Mizar ), and will continue in gradual approach to the pole till about the year 2095, when it will be only 26' 30" {p.458} away.

It will then recede in favor successively of gamma (γ), pi (π), zeta (ζ), nu (ν), and alpha (α) of Cepheus ( Alderamin ), alpha (α) and delta (δ) of the Swan ( Cygnus - Deneb Adige is alpha), and Wega ( Vega ) of the Lyre , when, marked by this last brilliant star, 11,500 years hence the pole will be about 50° distant from its present position and within 5° of Wega ( Vega ), which for 3000 years will serve as the pole-star of the then existing races of mankind.

The polar point will thence circle past iota (ι) and tau (τ) Hercules , theta (θ), iota (ι), and alpha (α) Draco , beta (β) Ursa Minor , and kappa (κ) Draco back to our alpha (α) again; the entire period being from 25,695 to 25,868 years, according to different calculations.1 Shakespeare did not know all this when he wrote in Julius Caesar : "constant as the Northern Star, Of whose true fixed and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament." [ Star Names , Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889]. The astrological influences of the constellation Ursa Minor Legend: According to some accounts this constellation, Ursa Minor , represents Arcas, son of Callisto and Jupiter (see Bootes and Ursa Major ). Other writers state that it is meant to represent Cynosura, one of the Nymphs of Crete who reared the infant Jupiter; the other, Helice, being Ursa Major.

[Robson * , p.65-66.] Influences: According to Ptolemy the bright stars are like Saturn and in some degree like Venus. It is said to give indifference and improvidence of spirit, and to lead to many troubles.

By the Kabalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Tau and the 21st Tarot Trump "The Universe." [Robson * , p.66.] The astrological influences of the constellation Ursa Minor given by Manilius: "Now where heaven reaches its culmination in the shining Bears ( Ursa Major and Ursa Minor ), which from the summit of the sky look down on all the stars and know no setting and, shifting their opposed stations about the same high point, set sky and stars in rotation, from there an insubstantial axis runs down through the wintry air and controls the universe, keeping it pivoted at opposite poles: it forms the middle about which the starry sphere revolves and wheels its heavenly flight, but is itself without motion and, drawn straight through the empty spaces of the great sky to the two Bears and through the very globe of the Earth, stands fixed, since the entire atmosphere ever revolves in a circle, and every part of the whole rotates to the place from which it once began, that which is in the middle, about which all moves, so insubstantial that it cannot turn round upon itself or even submit to motion or spin in circular fashion, this men have called the axis, since, motionless

 itself, it yet sees everything spinning about it.

"The top of the axis is occupied by constellations well known to hapless mariners, guiding them over the measureless deep in their search for gain. Helice ( Ursa Major ), the greater, describes the greater arc; it is marked by seven stars which vie with each other under its guidance the ships of Greece set sail to cross the seas. "Cynosura ( Ursa Minor ) is small and wheels round in a narrow circle, less in brightness as it is in size, but in the judgment of the Tyrians it excels the larger bear. "Carthaginians count it the surer-guide when at sea they make for unseen shores. They are not set face to face: each with its muzzle points at the other's tail and follows one that follows it. Sprawling between them and embracing each the Dragon ( Draco ) separates and surrounds them with its glowing stars lest they ever meet or leave their stations." [ Astronomica , Manilius, 1st century AD, p.27]. The astrological influences of the star Polaris Of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It causes much sickness, trouble, loss of fortune, disgrace and great affliction, and may give legacies and inheritances attended by much evil.

The Arabs were of the opinion that the contemplation of Polaris cured ophthalmia. [Robson * , p.185.] The pole star, Polaris, is the main star of "the small Bear", situated on the tail, has a Saturn nature, combined with qualities of Sun and Venus. It might seem strange to include this fixed star here, as its latitude is about 60° and therefore placed far outside of the ecliptic in which the planets move. Measured on the ecliptic, it is situated closely conjunct with Alpha Orionis, Betelgeuze , the main star of Orion . The Chinese considered the Pole Star as "the great honorable Lord of the Heavens". Other races too had high admiration for it, and one can draw the conclusion that, in a relevant position in the natal chart, it will give spiritual powers to the bearer, and he will be highly respected. The Pole Star serves as a guide and indicator. If it is conjunct with planets in the angles, the native will have a good sense of discretion and is able to follow "his instinct". He clearly recognizes his aims, and will pursue and achieve them.

[ Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation , Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p.35-36.] With Sun: Many troubles and evils. [Robson * , p.185.] With Moon: Hatred of the vulgar, ill-will of women and danger from thieves. [Robson * , p.185.] References: Credit: Mount Wilson Observatory StarMap program by Bob Donahue . StarMap is fortran program, but it's been broke since 2000jan03. Download site: Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville Astro course ; more precisely here . Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, ... ---- Chaucer (HH-2) , Canterbury Tales, The Prologue, lines 5--8. The Ram is Aries and the Sun will be in Aries in April. See Aries and the Ecliptic in the figure above. The Fixed Stars Since prehistory humans have noticed the stars, of course.

Over the course of a human life-time and even many generations don't seem to move much, except for the daily westward overall circling and the much slower overall motion due to the precession of the equinoxes . Both daily circling and precessions are physically caused by the motions of the Earth, of course---but this was not understood until after Copernicanism was accept in the course the 17th century. These Earth-originated motions do not change the relative angular positions of the stars. There is a small relative motion among the stars due the Earth's revolution around the Sun: the famous stellar parallax not discovered until 1838 ( No-419 ). Actually, the stars do have significant relative motion if you wait long enough or measure carefully enough. This motion is due to both the motion of the stars through space and the motion of the Sun through space. [Remember the Celestial Sphere is just a fiction. The stars, including Sun, are spread through three-dimensional space.] But one can say that the relative positions of the stars are relatively fixed: hence they are called the FIXED STARS. Physical and Unphysical Star Groups There are real physical star groupings.

By physical, we mean they are gravitationally bound and have a common history. The smaller star groupings (multiple star systems and clusters) usually form at the same time in the same place out of the same cloud of molecular hydrogen gas (H_2) and evolve together unless gravitational perturbations from outside break them up. In larger groupings (galaxies and clusters) the stars form over long periods of time, but due to internal evolution first of all. Galaxy mergers complicate this simple picture. HCG 87: Hickson Compact Group of Galaxies. The sources with points and many of the faint sources are foreground stars in our own Galaxy. The points are an artifact of the optical imaging system. Credit: NASA/HST. We can see some close globular star clusters and galaxies with the unaided eye. But they just look like fuzzy stars. Historically, they were called NEBULAE which is Latin for clouds. Nowadays we usually reserve the word NEBULAE for real clouds in space of which their are lots. We do see a few close open star clusters: most famously the PLEIADES and HYADES which we discuss below.

But most of the stars we see with the unaided eye are not in observable groups or are in unresolved multiple star systems and hence are seen as single stars. Of course, all the unaided-eye stars are in our galaxy, the Milky Way. But we only see relatively close stars, and so don't see the Milky Way's structure except as a faint, unresolved band in the sky: i.e., the Milky Way (the milky road). [The Milky Way was recognized as being made of stars with the advent of telescope ( No-335 ). GALILEO himself made this discovery in 1609 or so.] Most unaided-eye stars are randomly distributed in space in our part of the Milky Way. Thus they are also randomly distributed in angle on the CELESTIAL SPHERE. And stars that are close in angle may be very far apart in space: e.g., two close stars maybe hundreds of light-years apart along the line of sight from the Earth. [Since stars vary in intrinsic luminosity by more than 10**9 ( Se-605 , small star catalogue ), the apparent brightness of any individual star is not at all a reliable measure of that star's distance.

A bright star may have low luminosity, but be relatively close or it could have a high luminosity and be relatively distant. Without modern astronomical techniques, one simply cannot tell.] The upshot of this long discourse is obvious angular groupings of stars that we see on the sky are usually random groupings of stars that have NO PHYSICAL ASSOCIATION other than they our in our little part of the Milky Way. In fact, the angular groupings of star are NOT AT ALL CLEAR-CUT. The groupings overlap in random and complicated ways. So different human societies have historically divided up the stars into different angular groupings. These non-unique groupings are the CONSTELLATIONS. In our modern understanding the CONSTELLATIONS have NO deep physical significance. But, of course, historical societies who knew nothing of the real structure of the Milky Way thought the CONSTELLATIONS were of fundamental importance and could have deep meanings: i.e., be signs from the gods. [Astrology, of course, is based on the idea that the CONSTELLATIONS are fundamentally significant both to the cosmos and to human nature.

Western astrology ceased to be taken seriously as a science when in the 17th century, people realized the stars weren't pasted on the CELESTIAL SPHERE.] The Constellations in History We can't know for sure how ANCIENT CONSTELLATIONS were settled on or why. Probably the process was somewhat random and the name assigned to a constellation in many cases may have been just MNEMONIC without implying anything intrinsic about the nature of the constellation. The BIG DIPPER was certainly so called because it looks like a set of dots outlining a dipper but certainly it was NOT so identified by all cultures: e.g., in England it is often THE WAIN (the Wagon). The Big Dippler But even with connecting lines (which, of course, arn't on the sky) most constellations look like the object they are named for ONLY in an abstract-in-eye-of-the-beholder way. Without connecting lines, except for Big and Little Dippers, the constellation shapes have almost no relation to the names assigned to them. The constellation names were no doubt often assigned to honor a god or a legend.

For example, TAURUS (the Bull) which goes back at least to the Babylonians of the 5th century BC and, perhaps, much earlier, may honor a bull god or a sacred bull. The Golden Calf of the Bible is not forgotten. Orion and Taurus. Credit: John Flamstead (Atlas celeste, Paris, 1776, Ed. J. Fortin); modern credit Linda Hall Library ; more information . When the GREEKS acquired Taurus from the Babylonians, they assigned their own bull myth to Taurus: it is ZEUS in the shape of a bull that he used to carry off Europa : but enough of that. It is not clear to the author of these notes (that's me you know) how SACRED constellations ever were in the tradition that Europe inherited. They don't seem to have ever been directly worshipped or ritually honored so far as I can tell. As mentioned above there have been many assignments of constellations.

For example, Chhien Lu-Chih (5th century CE) working in the CHINESE TRADITION of astronomy grouped 1464 stars into 284 CONSTELLATIONS ( No-139--140 ). The Yin-Yang symbol doesn't represent a constellation, but astronomical interpretations of it are possible: e.g., night and Moon (Yin) and day and Sun (Yang). The Yin-Yang symbol. Actually the web offers a plethora of sites on the Yin-Yang that mostly don't look very trustworthy, but the Yin-Yang page of Dorothy Wilkins has references. The quote on the figure comes from a herbal medicine page , but it agrees sort of with the better documented Tao Te Ching translation of Stan Rosenthal . I've also figured out that the Tao Te Ching is not the same as the I Ching . At least some of ANCIENT CONSTELLATIONS that have found their way into the modern constellation canon may go back to the ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIANS of 2000 BC .

Constellations - AstroEd AstroEd Click here to visit the constellations You know the Big Dipper, part of the Big Bear (Ursa Major) and the Little Dipper or Little Bear (Ursa Minor) . In them we find not only the North Star, but also lovely galaxies, a planetary nebula, and the spot where the Hubble Space Telescope took its Hubble Deep Field (HDF) images of galaxies billions of light years away. The side of the bowl of the Big Dipper points towards the faint North Star (Polaris) at the tip of the Little Bear's tail, over the North Pole. As everyone knows, when we face Polaris we face North. East is to our right, West to our left, and South behind. A sextant, that measures how high Polaris is above the horizon, tells latitude, how far someone is north of the equator. If Polaris appears on the horizon (zero degrees up), we are at the Equator. If it is directly overhead (90 degrees up), we are at the North Pole.

If it appears to be 38.5 degrees above the horizon, we might be in Louisville Kentucky, or Uzbekistan, or anywhere on the globe that is 38.5 degrees north of the Equator. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor Polaris, once thought to be a binary star, now appears to be three stars orbiting one another. The largest of them is a Cepheid variable star, which brightens and dims predictably. The brightness of Cepheids is so reliable it reveals the distance to galaxies in which they occur. Polaris is a multiple star system of which one (Polaris A) is a Cepheid Variable When we look towards the Big Bear (Ursa Major) and Little Bear (Ursa Minor) we are looking out above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, through space, to other galaxies such as the Whirlpool (M51), and M81 and 82. Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) M 82 (Cigar Galaxy) lower left and M81 upper right Owl Nebula (M97) But the little Owl Nebula is in our own galaxy.

Here is where a little star, once the size of our Sun, died puffing out a planetary nebula, leaving a small white dwarf at its center. The M in M51, M81, M82, and M97 comes from Charles Messier (1730-1817) a clerk of the French navy, who made a list of 110 annoying objects not to be confused with comets. The objects in Messier's Catalog turned out to be more interesting than the comets. The 110 Messier Objects Some familiar Messier objects are the star forming Orion Nebula (M42), the Pleiades (M45) open star cluster and the globular star cluster M15, the planetary nebulae from dying stars Ring Nebula (M57) and Owl Nebula (M97), and a supernova remnant Crab Nebula (M1). All are in our 100,000 light year (LY) wide Milky Way galaxy. See if you can find them on the chart ! The Pleiades (M 45), also called Subaru or the Seven Sisters, may easily be seen with the naked eye.

Other Messier objects are galaxies far beyond our own Milky Way galaxy.The most famous is the Andromeda galaxy. On a dark night, away from city lights, the Andromeda galaxy may also be seen with the naked eye. Messier's galaxies were no more than 63 million light years (LY) away, and may be seen with a good backyard telescope. It wasn't until the Hubble Space Telescope that we could see galaxies 14 billion ly distant. The Hubble Deep Field (HDF) images were taken in the Big Dipper. These galaxies are what was seen in a tiny speck of sky no larger than a grain of sand held at arms length. Galaxies seen in the Hubble Deep Field Some galaxies are as much as 14 billion light years away. The light we see today, left those galaxies billions years ago. We are seeing what the Universe was like 14 billion years back in time. Click here for an interesting tour of what can be seen in Ursa Major with a small backyard telescope. Precession Although Polaris has guided navigators for thousands of years, it hasn't always been over the north pole.

Precession , a slow rotation of the direction of the Earth's axis, causes the north pole to trace out a circle every 25,765 years. This is also called precession of the equinoxes. Since it changes the direction of the Earth's tilt, and the Earth's tilt is what causes the seasons, the seasonal constellations change a tiny bit year by year until they return to their original locations after 25,765 years. Precession You see: DIFFERENT SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS As Earth revolves around the Sun during the year our night looks out towards different parts of the universe. With each season different constellations appear to cross the sky. Autumn Pegasus (the flying horse) and Andromeda (which looks like his hind legs) leaps over a small glow, the Andromeda galaxy (M31), 2.5 million light years away. Andromeda is in the Local Group of Galaxies. It looks much like our Milky Way galaxy and they are nearly the same size. Edwin Hubble found a Cepheid Variable star in the Andromeda galaxy that revealed how distant the galaxy is.

Pegasus and Andromeda Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Winter We see Orion the hunter chase Taurus the bull, across the sky. The star Betelgeuse on Orion's left shoulder is a red giant, a dying star that has expanded before its final collapse. Orion and Taurus We also see the familiar supernova remnant Crab nebula (M1) from a giant star that exploded in 1054 CE, the Pleiades (M45) star cluster, the dim but well loved Horsehead nebula, and a star-birth nebula, the Orion Nebula (M42). Spring We see Leo the Lion, near Ursa Major, the Great Bear, where there are more galaxies up above and far beyond the plane of our Milky Way. Summer The Teapot Sagittarius crosses the sky. The center of our Milky Way galaxy looks like steam rising over the teapot's spout. Here we see many nebulae and globular clusters of stars towards the center of our galaxy. Sagittarius looks like a Teapot Use star maps , a planisphere if you have one, or free planetarium software such as Stellarium to follow the changes in the sky with seasons.

On February 1st at 9 PM you will find Orion and Taurus rising in the east. By 12 AM you will see Orion highest in the sky. At 6AM Orion will be setting in the west at the end of the night. On May 1st at 9 PM see if you can find Leo rising in the east. Watch Leo cross the sky during the night. On August 1st at 9 PM find the Teapot in Sagittarius rising in the southeast. Watch it climb in the southern sky and set at dawn. On November 1st at 9 PM find Pegasus and Andromeda, and let them fly across the autumn sky. You know about ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS As we look towards the Zodiac Constellations, we are looking across the plane of the solar system where we naturally find the Sun, Moon, and planets. This path in the sky is called the ecliptic. Zodiac Constellations along the Ecliptic Someone's Zodiac sign is supposed to be the constellation in which the Sun shone the day of his or her birth.

However, since the Zodiac was invented by ancient Babylonians in southern Iraq thousands of years ago, precession has shifted the constellations by about a month. So the constellation you were born under is probably the sign for the month before yours, i.e. if you were born in August with the zodiac sign Virgo, the Virgin (tra-la-la), you were really born under Leo, the Lion (grrr), the sign for the month before. Naturally one cannot see his or her constellation behind the Sun. The ancients looked at the constellations nearest the Sun at sunrise and sunset and knew the missing constellation. The best way to see your own personal constellation is 6 months later, when Earth is on the same side of the Sun as your constellation. Now look at the sky maps, planisphere, or the software and see if you can find 12 Zodiac constellations, and the line of the Ecliptic, running through them, that is the plane of the Solar System. Then go outside on a clear night and see if you can find any of them in the sky. Altogether there are 88 constellations. Visit this website for a tour.

Google Sky offers an on-line realistic view with links to Hubble Space Telescope images. Did you recognize the galaxies that showed up when you clicked the link? Polaris Star – The Pole Star – Astrology King 2°20′ Polaris Star Astrology Fixed star Polaris is of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It causes much sickness, trouble, loss of fortune, disgrace and great affliction, and may give legacies and inheritances attended by much evil. [1] The Pole Star is the main star of the small Bear situated on the Tail, has a Saturn nature, combined with qualities of Sun and Venus. It might seem strange to include this fixed star here, as its latitude is about 60° and therefore placed far outside of the ecliptic in which the planets move. Measured on the ecliptic, it is situated closely conjunct with Alpha Orionis, Betelgeuse , the main star of Orion. The Chinese considered the Pole Star as “the great honorable Lord of the Heavens.” In a relevant position in the natal chart it gives spiritual powers to the nearer, who will be highly respected. The Pole Star serves as a guide and indicator.

If it is conjunction planets in the angles, the native will have a good sense of discretion and is able to follow his or her instincts. The native clearly recognizes his or her aims, and will pursue and achieve them. [3] Polaris, α Ursa Minoris, the Pole Star, is not as bright as we may think, It is still east to find by following up a line through the lower and upper stars at the end of the pan part of the Dipper. Ptolemy gives it Saturn-Venus rating, entirely right for the star which serves so well to guide us in our wanderings, and that is just what it tells us about people when we find it strong on their horoscopes. According to its aspects, they are excellent or not so good at receiving and giving guidance, but give it they always will, and to any and all who will listen. [4] Polaris rules the pancreas in the human body. [5] Constellation Ursa Minor is like Saturn and in some degree like Venus. It is said to give indifference and improvidence of spirit, and to lead to many troubles. [1] Astrologically both Bears were said to presage an evil influence.

They are particularly injurious as regards to the affairs of nations and kings. [2] Polaris Star, Alpha Ursae Minoris [ Polaris Star Conjunctions Sun conjunct Polaris: Many troubles and evils. [1] These persons will have a difficult time absorbing calcium properly, with the result that they experience indigestion. The problem is not usually related to the pancreas. The difficulty in digesting calcium creates an additional problem with the skeletal part of the head. There would be a continuous imbalance here in spite of the amount of calcium taken. The indigestion would continue as well as the thinning of the skeletal part of the head where they feel sensitive areas about the head. Eating fruit will help somewhat, but they will continue to have these problems. [5] Sun conjunct Saturn conjunct Polaris: With both the Sun and Saturn at this point, there would be complete bone damage throughout the body, including a weakness in the knees and shoulders. It does ultimately affect the teeth and jaws. [5] Moon conjunct Polaris: Hatred of the vulgar, ill-will of women and danger from thieves. [1] Saturn conjunct Polaris: These individuals will experience many weak areas about the body.

They are unable to assimilate the foods they eat, so that they experience many different illnesses and weaknesses. The nervous system is usually damaged, affecting the arms and legs. There is an aching they cannot pinpoint, or they would feel that their skin is too tender and highly sensitive. They will experience aches through the arms and legs. [5] Uranus conjunct Polaris: Hillary Clinton 1°55′. References 1. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923, p. 66, 185. 2. Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.7. 3. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1971, p.28. 4. The Living Stars, Dr. Eric Morse, 1988, p. 145. 5. The Fixed Star Health and Behavior Imbalance, Ted George and Barbara Parker, 1985, p.38. * All fixed star positions are for the year 2000. Add one degree per 72 years to correct for precession .

Question: In what constellation is the multiple star Polaris found?
Answer: Ursa Minor