The North star?

Question

why dosen't the North star move?

Answer 1

From our perspective, the North Star is in line with the Earth's northa axial pole. The Earth is spinning on its axis, and that axis is pointed in one direction in the sky - Polaris happens to be near that point in the sky.

But Polaris hasn't always been the North Star and won't always be the North Star, due to the precession of the equinoxes.

Over tens of thousands of years, the wobble in the Earth's axis of rotation cause the axis to point to other regions of the sky. Other stars that have been (and will be) the North Star include Thuban and Vega.

Polaris has been close to the actual position of the north pole for over 1000 years and during the 21st century it will continue to approach the exact theoretical position, reaching its closest approach in 2100 (at just .45 degrees away from the north axial pole).

Answer 2

Imagine a very long pole running through Earth from the South Pole to the North Pole. That pole is like an axle on a car around which the Earth rotates. The North End of the pole (..axle..) points almost directly at the North Star, therefore as Earth rotates the North Star moves very little.

Answer 3

It is on a line almost directly above the north pole. In other words, it is almost exactly on the polar axis. This is the axis of the earth's rotation. So from our point of view, the earth's rotation will make the whole sky appear to rotate around the polar axis, where Polaris, (the north star), sits.

Here's a great picture of it, using an exposure of about an hour.

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0407/ab0407-1.html

Answer 4

It does move, but not much. That's because it's almost directly above the Earth's north pole, so that as the Earth rotates, the North Star stays almost stationary.

Answer 5

The truth is, it does move! Objects is space are constantly moving. In several thousand years, the North Star will no longer be the North Star and we will have a new one.

Answer 6

the north star does move.
it is almost directly above the nothern pole and when the earth rotates it does not move that much because the northern pole doesn't move every day when the earth rotates.
it moves so little that people just say it doesn't move.
(this is best answer worthey)

Answer 7

Hi. Polaris actually moves in a circle each day with a diameter about twice the size of the Moon or so. This is from our perspective of course. It actually moves very little year to year. (It is also a double star and a Cepheid variable!)