How do you recognize the North Star?

If we do not have a compass and it is not possible to have the sun, we can turn to the North Star to find the north. Polaris is the only star that remains motionless in the sky and indicates the position of north. Polaris is the smartest, closest to the Arctic and has a triple star system in the Ursa Minor. Inside, the yellow supergiant Polaris A stands out, its distance from us is 325 light-years. It is different from the others because it is very close to the north celestial pole. Thus it is motionless as the hours and seasons pass. So much so that in a very short time it is impossible to observe the rotation of the Earth and the movement of the stars in the celestial sphere.

His movement therefore fails to distinguish it from the others. However, it is not the brightest in the sky. How then to distinguish it? It is the brightest star in theUrsa Minor, which goes by the name Little Bear. To find it, it’s helpful to look for the Big Dipper or Big Dipper, as Polaris aligns perfectly with the last two stars of the Big Dipper. A distance of 5 times the space separating the two stars.

Outside the period from September to December, Polaris can always be seen the rest of the year. It is excluded during this period, because the Big Dipper (the one that helps to see the North Star) is low on the northern horizon. Once you have found theBig Bear, we look for Dubhe and Merak, two stars. On their imaginary line we continue to the arrow made by the stars Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid. The first star we will meet is Polaris.

Alternatively, the reference of the constellation Cassiopeia, with the shape of M or W. Once you have identified Cassiopeia, you should look in the direction of the arrow of the stars Ruchbah, γ Cas and Shedir. The first shining star will be the North Star.