The Mystery of the North Star: Astronomers baffled to find Polaris is getting BRIGHTER

Daily Mail ^ | UPDATED: 16:18 EST, 5 February 2014 | MARK PRIGG

[Tallguy]

Must be another consequence of Global Warming...

[Gen.Blather]

Polaris is a Cepheid variable. It’s been getting dimmer and brighter for a long time. Its various sputterings has suggested that something interestingly unstable is going on. If I recall, it’s large enough (8-12 solar masses) that it could go supernova. But if it did, we won’t know about it for 600 years. So, whatever we’re seeing now is what it was doing 600 years ago. (Yawn...old news.)

[Focault's Pendulum]

Very ysterious!

Very ysterious indeed!

[JoeProBono]

The North Star Polaris Is Getting Brighter by Nola Taylor Redd, SPACE.com Contributor | January 28, 2014 06:41am ET Photo of Polaris, the North Star and close-up This long-exposure photo (left) shows how the North Star, Polaris, stays fixed in the night sky as other stars appear to move during the night due to Earth's rotation. At right, a close-up of the multi-star Polaris system. Credit: Left image: M. Menefee; Right: N. Carboni; Assembly: D. Majaess

[P.O.E.]

Maybe it's headed this way!

[Vehmgericht]

CE stand for Common Era, a substitute for “Anno Domini,” The Year of our Lord. It is used by miscreants who are offended by the terms AD and BC. It is still based on the birth of the Baby Jesus.

[exDemMom]

‘Tis a ystery.

'Tis an ystery.

Remember that the indefinite article changes to "an" before vowels!

[fieldmarshaldj]

I got yer dangling participle right ‘ere !

[exDemMom]

Nice picture. I am glad that star motion is too slow to see; I’m getting dizzy just looking at the pic.

[ZinGirl]

aybe the REAL 'ystery' is: "OMG! What happened to the 'M'?"

:P

[airborne]

Interesting that the comments posted at the link are decidedly right leaning.

Lots of Freeper-like jokes.

[Hot Tabasco]

Astronomers have discovered that Polaris, the north star, is getting brighter.

My guess is that it's actually a headlight..........

Sorry but no, I am not an astrophysicist.....

[katana]

Well just remember, the stars aren't in motion, we are.

You may puke now, if you like.

[Library Lady]

I like to think of CE as Christian Era. :)

[JoeProBono]

[KarlInOhio]

Team found that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than in 137CE 

Funny number. It is the amount of one magnitude difference in modern notation. Ptolemy subdivided his stars into 15 brightness levels, so it is more precise than just by single magnitudes.

[McGruff]

Thuban? Is that some new car company?

[JRios1968]

Astronomers have discovered that Polaris, the north star, is getting brighter. They say the star has suddenly reversed two decades of dimming. It is expanding at more than 100 times the rate they expected - and nobody is sure why.

Two theories:

or

[Patriot365]

if it is after 1 AD. I refer to it as the Christian Era.

[RC one]

Yes, Vega became tarnished by its oxidative nature and generally cast a poor reflection on Chevy. Not to worry however, Thuban will come back around again in a little over 18,000 years and all will be well again.