Posted on 04/28/2021 5:16:26 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Why is Polaris called the North Star? First, Polaris is the nearest bright star toward the north spin axis of the Earth. Therefore, as the Earth turns, stars appear to revolve around Polaris, but Polaris itself always stays in the same northerly direction -- making it the North Star. Since no bright star is near the south spin axis of the Earth, there is currently no South Star. Thousands of years ago, Earth's spin axis pointed in a slightly different direction so that Vega was the North Star. Although Polaris is not the brightest star on the sky, it is easily located because it is nearly aligned with two stars in the cup of the Big Dipper. Polaris is near the center of the eight-degree wide featured image, an image that has been digitally manipulated to suppress surrounding dim stars but accentuate the faint gas and dust of the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN). The surface of Cepheid Polaris slowly pulsates, causing the star to change its brightness by a few percent over the course of a few days.
(Excerpt) Read more at apod.nasa.gov ...
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Cat is “digitally manipulated”.
I didn’t see that one today!
Looks like some of the dust bunnies in my house.
“Although Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky”
Don’t you listen to them, Polaris!
You’re smart!
In some things.
Thinking same thing!
Too much Greenhouse gas in space. Calling Greta Thuneburg. You are needed on Cloud Nine.
Elon Musk should fix up a Spaxe-X for Gretta and AOC to go up and fix the eco problems of the inhabitants of Star el Norte.
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