Do the stars in the

sky move?
 YES! The stars do move
slowly over the course of
the night. The entire sky
rotates about the point in the
sky where you can find the
North Star (Polaris).
By observing Sun’s movement and position in the sky, we can tell what time of
the day it is. When it seems to rise in the east, it is morning. When it is above
us, it is noon. When it seems to move towards the west, it is afternoon. At
night, stars are used to tell the time. Just like the Sun, stars also seem to move
from East to West.
It's important to keep in mind, however,
that the stars aren't physically moving
around the North Star. It's the Earth's
rotation on its axis that causes this
effect.
As the stars move through the sky, they stay in the
same patterns. That is, the apparent “distance”
between any two stars never changes. A given pattern
of stars may move across the sky and turn sideways or
even upside-down, but it won't grow larger or smaller,
or change its shape in any other way.
POLARIS
Polaris, commonly known as North Star,
is the brightest star in the constellation
Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). It is very
close to the north celestial pole, making
it the current northern pole star.
Because it lies nearly in a direct line
with the axis of the Earth's rotation
"above" the North Pole, Polaris
stands almost motionless in the sky,
and all the stars of the Northern sky
appear to rotate around it.
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.
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.
During the course of the night, Polaris
does not rise or set, but remains in
very nearly the same spot above the
northern horizon year-round while the
other stars circle around it.
So at any hour of the night, at any time of
the year you can readily find Polaris and it
is always found in a due northerly
direction. If you were at the North Pole,
the North Star would be directly overhead.
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.
In Metro Manila, when you face North, Polaris, which is
11.3o from the horizon, is seen at around 15° due to
atmospheric refraction. In some parts of the country (i.e.
Southern Philippines), it would be very difficult to locate
Polaris since starlights near the horizon are washed out
by lights lit by men, and /or obstructed by man-made or
topographical structures and/or trees.
 Why are some
constellations only
visible at particular
months?
While the rotation of the Earth on its axis
causes the apparent nightly movement of the
stars across the sky, the revolution is
responsible for the fact that we can see
different parts of the sky at different parts
of the year.
Spring (March-June) – Bootes, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Hydra, Crates
Summer (June-September) – Sagittarius, Aquilla, Cygnus,
Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Scorpius
Fall (September-December) – Pegasus, Andromeda, Aquarius,
Capricornus, Pisces
Winter (December to March) – Orion, Cetus, Eridanus, Gemini,
Perseus, Taurus, Canis Major