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The North Star is a title of the Star best suited for Navigation North wards. A candidate must be visible 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 . The North Star has been historically used by explorers to determine their Latitude . At any point north of the Equator the angle from the horizon to the North Star (its altitude) is the same as the latitude from which that angle was taken. For example, the angle to the North Star for a person at 30° latitude will be about 30°. Polaris has a Visual Magnitude of 1.97 (second magnitude). In 3000 BC the faint star Thuban in the Constellation Draco was the North Star. At magnitude 3.67 (fourth magnitude) it is only one-fifth as bright as Polaris. The first magnitude star Vega will be the North Star by AD 14,000. Currently, there is no South Star as useful as Polaris; the faint star σ Octantis is closest to the south celestial pole. However, the constellation Crux , the Southern Cross, points towards the south pole. SEE ALSO |
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