Pole star
For other uses, see Polestar (disambiguation).
“North Star” redirects here. For other uses, see North
Star (disambiguation).
A pole star is a visible star, preferably a prominent one,
A French “navisphere": a type of celestial globe formerly used
for navigation at sea
that is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rota-
tion; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one
of the celestial poles, and which lies approximately di-
rectly overhead when viewed from the Earth’s North Pole
or South Pole. A similar concept also applies to other
planets than the Earth. In practice, the term pole star usu-
ally refers to Polaris, which is the current northern pole
star, also known as the North Star.
The south celestial pole lacks a bright star like Polaris to
mark its position. At present, the naked-eye star nearest
to this imaginary point is the faint Sigma Octantis, which
is sometimes known as the South Star.
While other stars’ apparent positions in the sky change
throughout the night, as they appear to rotate around the
1
celestial poles, pole stars’ apparent positions remain vir-
tually fixed. This makes them especially useful in celestial
navigation: they are a dependable indicator of the direc-
tion toward the respective geographic pole although not
exact; they are virtually fixed, and their angle of elevation
can also be used to determine latitude.
The identity of the pole stars gradually changes over time
because the celestial poles exhibit a slow continuous drift
through the star field. The primary reason for this is the
precession of the Earth’s rotational axis, which causes its
orientation to change over time. If the stars were fixed
in space, precession would cause the celestial poles to
trace out imaginary circles on the celestial sphere approx-
imately once every 26,000 years, passing close to differ-
ent stars at different times. The stars themselves also ex-
hibit proper motion, which causes a very small additional
apparent drift of pole stars.
1 Northern pole star (North Star)
Time-lapse video of Polaris and neighboring stars.
1.1 Present
The closest bright star to the north celestial pole is Polaris.
At magnitude 1.97 (variable), it is the brightest star in
the Ursa Minor constellation (at the end of the “han-
dle” of the “Little Dipper” asterism).[1] As of October
2012 its declination is +89°19′8″ (at epoch J2000 it was
+89°15′51.2″). Therefore it always appears due north in
the sky to a precision better than one degree, and the angle
it makes with respect to the true horizon (after correcting
for refraction and other factors) is equal to the latitude of
2 1 NORTHERN POLE STAR (NORTH STAR)

The path of the north celestial pole amongst the stars due to the
effect of precession, with dates shown

bright star closest to the celestial pole, but it was never

close enough to be taken as marking the pole, and the
Greek navigator Pytheas in ca. 320 BCE described the
celestial pole as devoid of stars.
A long exposure (45 min.) photo of Polaris and neighbouring
In the Roman era, the celestial pole was about equally dis-
stars, taken at Ehrenbürg (Franconia), 2001.
tant from α Ursae Minoris (Cynosura) and β Ursae Mi-
noris (Kochab).
the observer to better than one degree. It is consequently α Ursae Minoris was described as ἀειφανής “always vis-
known as Polaris (from Latin stella polaris “pole star”). It ible” by Stobaeus in the 5th century, when it was still re-
was formerly sometimes known as Cynosura, from a time moved from the celestial pole by about 8°. It was known
before it was the pole star, from its Greek name meaning as scip-steorra (“ship-star”) in 10th-century Anglo-Saxon
“dog’s tail” (as the constellation of Ursa Minor was inter- England, reflecting its use in navigation.
preted as a dog, not a bear, in antiquity).
The name stella polaris has been given to α Ursae Minoris
A common method of locating Polaris in the sky is to since at least the 16th century, even though at that time
follow along the line of the so-called “pointer” stars in the it was still several degrees away from the celestial pole.
bowl of the Big Dipper asterism, specifically, the two stars Gemma Frisius determined this distance as 3°7' in the
farthest from its “handle”. The arc between the pointer year 1547.[3]
stars and Polaris is nearly five times greater than the arc
The precession of the equinoxes takes about 25,770
between the pointer stars.[2]
years to complete a cycle. Polaris’ mean position (tak-
ing account of precession and proper motion) will reach
a maximum declination of +89°32'23”, so 1657” or
1.2 Historical 0.4603° from the celestial north pole, in February 2102.
Its maximum apparent declination (taking account of
The North Star has historically been used for navigation
nutation and aberration) will be +89°32'50.62”, so 1629”
since Late Antiquity, both to find the direction of north or 0.4526° from the celestial north pole, on 24 March
and to determine latitude.
2100.[4]
Due to the precession of the equinoxes (as well as the Gamma Cephei (also known as Alrai, situated 45 light-
stars’ proper motions), the role of North Star passes from years away) will become closer to the northern celestial
one star to another. pole than Polaris around 3000 CE. Iota Cephei will be-
In 3000 BCE, the faint star Thuban in the constellation come the pole star some time around 5200 CE. First-
Draco was the North Star. At magnitude 3.67 (fourth magnitude Deneb will be within 5° of the North Pole in
magnitude) it is only one-fifth as bright as Polaris, and 10000 CE.
today it is invisible in light-polluted urban skies. When Polaris becomes the North Star again around
During the 1st millennium BCE, β Ursae Minoris was the 27800 CE, due to its proper motion it then will be far-
 3

ther away from the pole than it is now, while in 23600 2,000 years or so. As a consequence, the constellation is
BCE it was closer to the pole. no longer visible from subtropical northern latitudes, as it
was in the time of the ancient Greeks.
Around 2000 BCE, the star Eta Hydri was the nearest
2 Southern pole star (South Star) bright star to the Celestial south pole. Around 2800 BCE,
Achernar was only 8 degrees from the south pole.
Currently, there is no South Star as useful as Polaris. In the next 7500 years, the south Celestial pole will pass
Sigma Octantis is the closest naked-eye star to the south close to the stars Gamma Chamaeleontis (4200 CE), I
Celestial pole, but at apparent magnitude 5.45 it is barely Carinae, Omega Carinae (5800 CE), Upsilon Carinae,
visible on a clear night, making it unusable for naviga- Iota Carinae (Aspidiske, 8100 CE) and Delta Velorum
tional purposes.[5] It is a Yellow giant, 275 light years (9200 CE).[8] From the eightieth to the ninetieth cen-
from Earth. Its angular separation from the pole is about turies, the south Celestial pole will travel through the
1° (as of 2000). The Southern Cross constellation func- False Cross. Around 14000 CE, when Vega is only 4 de-
tions as an approximate southern pole constellation, by grees from the North Pole, Canopus will be only 8 degrees
pointing to where a southern pole star would be. At the from the South Pole and thus circumpolar on the latitude
equator it is possible to see both Polaris and the Southern of Bali (8 deg S).[9]
Cross.[6] [7]

3 Other planets
Pole stars of other planets are defined analogously: they
are stars (brighter than 6th magnitude, i.e., visible to the
naked eye under ideal conditions) that most closely co-
incide with the projection of the planet’s axis of rotation
onto the Celestial sphere. Different planets have differ-
ent pole stars because their axes are oriented differently.
(See Poles of astronomical bodies.)

• Alpha Pictoris is the south pole star of Mercury,

while Omicron Draconis is the north star.[10]

• 42 Draconis is the closest star to the northern pole

of Venus. Eta¹ Doradus is the closest to the south
pole.

• Delta Doradus is the south pole star of the Moon.

The path of the south Celestial pole amongst the stars due to the
• Kappa Velorum is only a couple of degrees from the
effect of precession
south Celestial pole of Mars. The top two stars in
the Northern Cross, Sadr and Deneb, point to the
north Celestial pole of Mars.[11]

• Delta Octantis is the south pole star of Saturn.

• Eta Ophiuchi is the north pole star of Uranus and 15

Orionis is its south pole star.

• The north pole of Neptune points to a spot midway

between Gamma and Delta Cygni. Its south pole
star is Gamma Velorum.

Series of shots where you can see the rotation of the Earth’s 4 In world cultures
axis relative to the south celestial pole, clearly see the Magellanic
Clouds and the Southern Cross. Near the end of the video you
can see the rise of the moon that illuminates the scene. In Japan, the Pole Star was represented by Myōken
Bosatsu ( ).
The Celestial south pole is moving toward the Southern In the Greek Magical Papyri the Pole star was identified
Cross, which has pointed to the south pole for the last with Set-Typhon, and given authority over the gods.
4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

In Hindu mythology, the pole star is called Dhruva.

In Hawaiian mythology, the pole star is called Kiopa'a.[12]
In Chinese mythology, Emperor Zhuanxu is mentioned
as a god of the Pole Star.

5 See also
• Celestial equator
• Circumpolar star

• Celestial navigation
• Voyages of Christopher Columbus

• Dhruva

6 References
[1] van Leeuwen, F. (2007). “HIP 11767”. Hipparcos, the
New Reduction. Retrieved 2011-03-01.

[2] http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Spolaris.htm

[3] Gemmae Frisii de astrolabo catholico liber: quo latis-

sime patentis instrumenti multiplex usus explicatur, & quic-
quid uspiam rerum mathematicarum tradi possit contine-
tur, Steelsius (1556), p. 20

[4] Jean Meeus, Mathematical Astronomy Morsels Ch.50;

Willmann-Bell 1997

[5] “Sigma Octantis”. Jumk.De. 6 August 2013.

[6] “The North Star: Polaris”. Space.com. May 7, 2012. Re-

trieved 6 August 2013.

[7] Hobbs, Trace (May 21, 2013). “Night Sky Near the Equa-
tor”. Wordpress. Retrieved 6 August 2013.

[8] http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/moonkmft/Articles/
Precession.html

[9] Kieron Taylor (1 March 1994). “Precession”. Sheffield

Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2013-08-06.

[10] 2004. Starry Night Pro, Version 5.8.4. Imaginova. ISBN

978-0-07-333666-4. www.starrynight.com

[11] http://www.eknent.com/etc/mars_np.png

[12] Kepelino’s Traditions of Hawaii, by Kepelino, ca 1830-ca

1878. Beckwith, Martha Warren, 1871-1959.

7 External links
• Star trails around Polaris
 5

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text
• Pole star Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole%20star?oldid=655343841 Contributors: Bryan Derksen, Shii, Patrick, Vargenau, Tom
Peters, Pstudier, Altenmann, Nurg, Utcursch, Sca, Uranographer, Jodamiller, Brian Brondel, Chef Lord, Tomruen, Icairns, B.d.mills,
Cwoyte, Mike Rosoft, Carl Henderson, ArnoldReinhold, Murtasa, Dbachmann, RJHall, JeDi, Kotuku33, JW1805, Nk, Alphonsus, Alan-
sohn, Jhertel, Nicknack009, Skatebiker, Tabletop, Lasunncty, Reisio, Ewlyahoocom, Quuxplusone, Tedder, Chobot, YurikBot, RussBot,
Nahallac Silverwinds, Musiclover, Priyanath, Poppy, Friman~enwiki, SmackBot, Bggoldie~enwiki, Dpwkbw, Bluebot, AndrewRT, B00P,
William Allen Simpson, Robogun, Tamfang, DHeyward, Alieseraj, Onlim, Novangelis, Ewulp, Berox, Rwflammang, Karenjc, Pole star,
A876, Lester Darling, ST47, Vanished User jdksfajlasd, BetacommandBot, Kahastok, Ishdarian, Oosh, Escarbot, Babylone, Sean Parmelee,
Fedaro, JAnDbot, Barek, Sunshine33, Hekerui, CommonsDelinker, Ja 62, Balajijagadesh, Funandtrvl, Redtigerxyz, RingtailedFox, Ox-
fordwang, Henrykus, Maxim, Hasanbay~enwiki, PlanetStar, BartekChom, Martarius, ClueBot, General Epitaph, Imperium Europeum,
Trivialist, Rockfang, Pcyrus, DumZiBoT, Savabubble, Spitfire, Addbot, Imeriki al-Shimoni, ThePokergod, Kaustin6969, Tide rolls,
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Pbrower2a, Allen4names, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Ayushjainr, Alph Bot, EmausBot, Sinazita, Jonesoda915, JDDJS, Sepguilherme, Blakeed-
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