How do you locate polaris?

Answer 1

It will be the only star in the north that does not move.

In the Northern Hemisphere, it is easy to find Polaris by following the line traced from Merak to Dubhe, the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper.

Answer 2

How Do I Find Polaris?
Polaris is located in the constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the group of stars that make up the “Little Dipper.” Polaris is the star in the end of the Little Dipper handle. Often, however, the Little Dipper is not very bright and can be challenging to find. Polaris is easiest to find by locating the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major, or Big Bear. These stars form a small bowl with a long handle. Follow the stars of the Big Dipper from the handle to the side of the bowl, to the bowl bottom, and up the other side; the two stars forming the second side, Dubhe and Merak, point to Polaris. Take the distance between Dubhe and Merak; Polaris is the bright star that sits about five times that distance away.

Polaris actually is part of a binary (two) star system. Of the stars nearest to our Sun, about half are known to be in multiple systems (two or more stars). Between 5 and 10 percent of the stars we can observe are “visible binaries” — the star companions can be observed with a telescope. These systems reveal a great deal of information. Because of their interactions, astronomers can determine the gravitational pull exerted by the companions and calculate the mass of the individual stars. Polaris is helpful to astronomers in another way; it is a variable star. Polaris pulsates, a change we detect as a pattern of dimming and brightening. This pulsation helps astronomers calculate celestial distances.

Answer 3

Let me share a neat trick I learned during my time in the Boy Scouts.

The easiest way to locate Polaris is to find the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). Once you've found the Big Dipper, the rest is easy!

Follow the handle of the dipper down to the "scoop" part. The last two outside stars of that scoop (the farthest "side" from the handle) point straight at Polaris.

Now, stretch out your hand with only the thumb and pinkie out (you may know this gesture as "hang ten") and hold it out at arm's length. Now, put your thumb just above the upper "scoop" star and make sure that the line formed by your thumb and pinkie is a continuation of the line formed by with the "side" of the scoop (i.e. a straight line runs through those two stars and the line of your hand).

See the bright star at the tip of your pinkie? That's Polaris!
I hope this helps, and even more I hope you enjoy the night sky!

Polaris is the only star in the sky that does not move, and because of that it is the star that many generations of ancient mariners navigated by.

Also of interest, the second star in the handle of the Big Dipper is called Mizar, and it's actually two separate binary star systems...so that while to the naked eye it's just one star, in reality you're looking at four stars!

Answer 4

It's the North Star, isn't it?

So find north.

It's around there somewhere.

Answer 5

Go to this site and put your mouse pointer over the picture and you'll find out ...

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/C_SPRING/URSAS.HTM