has anybody else notice hows the big dipper changes its location in the sky?

Question

i know the earth rotates. but do the stars also rotate. i jus recently looked up in the sky and noticed the big dipper was not in its usual spot. it moved like three times already.

Answer 1

Stars do rotate, but a star spinning around on its axis would not make it appear to change position with respect to planet earth. Stars also revolve around the center of the galaxy, but this movement is so slow that the appearance of the constellations changes very little during a human lifetime.

The change in the location of the big dipper in the sky is due solely to the rotation of the earth on its axis. If you keep an eye on it over the course of a night, it will appear to rotate around the north star Polaris.

Imagine if you drew the stars of the big dipper on one side of a pie pan, then punched a pencil through the center of the pie pan and twirled the pencil in your hand, so the pie plate spun around. The movement of the big dipper on the pie plate is similar to what you see in the sky.

Answer 2

The stars do not rotate: only the Earth rotates. But, as a result of the Earth's rotation, the stars _appear_ to rotate around Polaris, the Pole Star, located almost directly over the Earth's North Pole. This is most obvious with the two main circumpolar constellations, Ursa Major (which contains the Big Dipper) and Cassiopaeia. Right now the Big Dipper is low in the northwest as the Sun sets, and moves across the northern sky into the northeast by dawn. In spring, the Dipper is high overhead.

Congratulations on noticing this with your own eyes. I'm glad someone is paying attention to the stars!

Answer 3

ok, well the second guy is wrong, stars do rotate.

and the constellation moves for along to reasons. there is tons of movement going on in the universe and even our solar system. if you mean that it changed three times in one night its just because of the earths rotating, nothing to do with the stars rotation. if you mean it changed its position over a few days its due to the earth revolving around the sun, the sun revolving around the center of our galaxy, and the stars in the big dipper also moving around the center of the galaxy.

Answer 4

The Earth rotates on its axis...it also revolves around the sun. So there is a lot of movement going on. You are seeing the changes caused by this movement when you notice the stars change places.

Answer 5

Yes, I have noticed it was out of place tonight. It is usually further northwest this time of year.

Answer 6

yea i have