Posted on 04/11/2023 1:36:56 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 bright 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, a digital composite of hundreds of exposures that brings out faint gas and dust of the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) all over the frame as well as the globular star cluster NGC 188 on the far left. The surface of Cepheid Polaris slowly pulsates, causing the famous star to change its brightness by a few percent over the course of a few days.
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.
Someone should take a broom to that mess.
Anyone who thinks it is the brightest star is seriously confused.
Polaris is in fact the brightest star except for all the other brighter ones.
You can't be Sirius.
That was good.
Polaris is nothing without Kochab.
No direction.
Damn..pollen is everywhere!!
Out of all the stars in the sky, Polaris is one of them.
Wow.
“Right down the line” by Gerry Rafferty:
“You’ve been as constant as the northern star, the brightest star that shines...”
Many people think that. I like Gerry Rafferty but not this line.
Dag nabbit, you’ve beaten me to the punch again! Heh.
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
Schroeder plays the piano. I think Pigpen should play a harp and a Hammond B3. Get a band going.
Didn’t know about all dat dust out dere…….
Gerry is his own star now.......................
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