Why does the pole star not change its position while the other stars do?

Answer 1

because the pole star is 90* above the north pole of the Earth so as the earth rotates there will be no change in position of the pole star.

Answer 2

Well Let me explain it like this. THe earth rotates around the north and south pole and goes around once in twenty four hours. Now if you think about the sun which roughly sits over the region of the equator, (As the earth goes through its year cycle the sun moves north or south of the equator but we wont go into that) the sun moves through the sky in the day, rising in the easty and setting in the west. NOw the point I am trying to make is that when the sun goes down the eart does not stop rotating , it still keeps rotating and there fore the constellations in the sky will also keep moving. THe reason the pole star in your northern hemisphere seems to stay in the one spot, is that because it is directly above the North Pole (the pole star is very near the north celestial pole). THe constellations above the equator move through the sky just like sun and moon etc (this is called the ecliptic) however the more north you look the less the stars will seem to move round that north pole star. SO if you Were to stand on the north pole and look directly above your head you would see the north star directly above you. THe further away you get from the north star the more the north star will seem to get closer to the north horizon, so if you were to stand on the equator you would find the north star exactly on the horizon. THis is how you find your latitude, the number of degfrees ogf the horizon the North Star is is the number of degrees latitude you are at. Now in the Southern Hemisphere we do not have a south star that you can see with your naked eye and that is why we require the southern cross to calculate the south celestial pole. Send me a contact message if you do not get it.

Answer 3

It's because earth is rotating and the pole star is, for want of a better way of putting it, directly overhead.

Imagine a similar scenario - you're in a chair that rotates, there's several lights on the ceiling one of which is above the chair. As you look up and rotate the chair it appears that the light above you stays still and all the others move. Of course, it's you and the chair that's moving not the lights. Siilarly it's you and the earth that's moving and not the stars.

Here's a photo that shows how the stars appear to rotate in the night sky. http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/Stars071906a.jpg

In the southern hemisphere there is a similar star which indicates south, here's a long exposure photo of the southern hemisphere sky... http://www.dimijianimages.com/More-page1/star-trails-Botswana.htm

Answer 4

No I don't think it is fixed! For e.g. currently our pole star is Polaris, the alpha star of Ursa Minor, but for our astonishment it will be replaced by a star of Cephus(Name I don't know exactly), followed by Deneb for next million years. This occurs in a cyclic manner. This is because the Earth along with our Sun and other planets rotates in its Galatic Path. The period is about nearly 250 million years. And other is that it is not exactly pointed to north, when Earth is rotating, it forms very small circle. This shows that it is changing its position slightly.

Answer 5

Actually it does change its position. In fact Polaris will not be the pole star in the future.

Answer 6

dude thats a good question i never thought of that