Circumpolar Stargazing
—Allison Bedosky, Education Director
If you were to pick a cool, crisp and clear winter's night to stargaze, would you be able to locate and name ten stars? How about five? What about one very famous celestial body in the northern hemisphere, the 45th brightest in the night sky?
This star, Polaris, is also known as the North Star and is a supergiant that is estimated to be about 434 light-years away. Although separated by this great distance, it can still be seen with the naked eye from the northern half of the world, and can be easily spotted with a modest telescope. Polaris is our pole star, meaning that it never sets in the northern hemisphere and because of this, appears motionless to stargazers. This unmoving state makes all other stars in the night sky seem to rotate around it, which has led to many legends and tales being told about Ursa Minor, or the "little dipper," the constellation containing the North Star.
One Native American legend tells us of a group of hunters that find themselves lost in the woods. They fear they will never find their way home and begin to pray to the spirits to send them help. As night falls, a young girl appears to the hunters and describes herself as the spirit of the pole star. She directs the hunters to follow her and eventually leads them home. Soon after their arrival, Polaris became known as the star that does not move, and when hunters died, they were transported into the sky as Ursa Minor, where they forever follow the North Star.
If you find yourself outside on one of these clear winter nights, follow these simple steps to locate Polaris:
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Locate the "Big Dipper", which is part of Ursa Major.
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Find the two stars on the side of the constellation farthest from the "handle" of the Big Dipper
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Draw an imaginary line from the fainter star, to the brighter star
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Continue the imaginary line and you will find the North Star, which is at the end of the Little Dipper, part of the constellation Ursa Minor.
(The diagram above may be helpful in locating Polaris, along with a few constellations that are visible during the winter months).
Happy stargazing!
