Is there "north star" or is that just one of the planets. I see it every morning outshining everything else.

Answer 1

The North star (Polaris) is a not-too-bright star that just happens to be the closest to the projection of Earth's rotation axis onto the sky.

If you point a (wide field) telescope on it, it would stay in the filed of view all night.

It's azimuth is always within one degree of north. Its altitude above the horizon (after corrections) is equal to the latitude.

That is why it is important.

But it is not that bright.

What you see is probably in the East, before sunrise, and it is the planet Venus (brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon).

Answer 2

Planet Venus, the "Morning Star", is west of the Sun these months, so it rises before sunrise, as a very bright "star", easily brighter then everything else up there before dawn, except the Moon when it's there.

The North Star is always there at the North Celestial Pole in the sky, but it's not really that bright; just another ordinary star, except for the fact that it lies very close to the line of our planet Earth's axis of rotation.

Answer 3

If you are in the UK or Europe, the brightest thing in the sky every morning is currently the planet Venus. It's out there every morning in the southeast before sunrise, but it will vary its position as time goes by, according to its position in orbit around the Sun. It's known as the "morning" or "evening" star because of its brightness at these times (erroneously, because it's a planet!). Venus is apparently so bright because it's quite close to both Earth and the Sun, and has an atmosphere of thick white clouds which very effectively reflect the sunlight in our direction.

The Pole Star or North Star (Polaris) is quite dim by comparison. It is a genuine star, and (unlike all the other stars, which because of earth's rotation, appear to circulate daily around the north pole) always appears in the same position every night in the sky in the northern hemisphere. That is why it was used by ancient navigators, who used it as a pointer towards the direction of our geographic North Pole.

Answer 4

If it's very bright, it's probably Venus. You can find Polaris, or the north star by finding the Big Dipper and drawing an imaginary line that goes through the two stars that make the front of the dipper. Follow that imaginary line to a star of about the same brightness and you've found the north star.

Answer 5

I saw it very early in the morning and was sure it was an airplane at first. It's Venus the most reflective planet in the sky. It's so pronounced at times that people think it's a UFO.
It remains in the sky after the sun chases most of the stars away with it's first light. During this cycle it appears in the eastern sky and is called "the morning star" a other times of years during it's cycle it is the first star we see as the sun is setting in the western sky. Then it's called "the evening star'.
It's not a star at all but the planet Venus.
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Answer 6

The North Star is a title of the star best suited for navigation northwards. A candidate for navigation northward must be viewable from Earth and circumpolar to the north celestial pole. The current one is Polaris. It is the star at the end of the "handle" of the Little Dipper asterism in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is close to the celestial North Pole, but off by about two-thirds of 1°.

Answer 7

Thats Venus aka the"Morning Star". The north star is the last star in the pan handle of the Little Dipper. The start's name is Sirius.

Answer 8

It's Venus-------- most of the responses are correct. It's amazing to me how many times I am asked this same question! Many people think "the brightest thing in the sky" must be the North star- Polaris.

Actually Polaris is quit dim------- and a very ordinary star in the sky.

Answer 9

The bright one is Venus. The North Star is, by definition, in the north, and is unremarkable apart from that.

Answer 10

Yes, there is a North Star. Early seafarers used it for navigation; explorers used it to find their way over vast distances. It is a part of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor).
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Star