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Polaris

ourjrny > albums > Alaska North Star ~ Arctic Fantasy

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~ Featured Member's Choice Entertainment Digital Art 03 October 2007 ~ This is actually Midday Sun at our home in Interior Alaska ~ Spring Skies ~ "Pole Star ~ Polaris Definition ~ Because a UMi lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth's rotation "above" the North Pole — the north celestial pole — Polaris stands almost motionless on the sky, and all the stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation and for astrometry. The antiquity of its use is attested by the fact that it is found represented on the earliest known Assyrian tablets. At present, Polaris is 0.7° away from the pole of rotation (1.4 times the Moon disc) and hence revolves around the pole in a small circle 1½° in diameter. Only twice during every sidereal day does Polaris accurately define the true north azimuth; the rest of the time it is only an approximation and must be corrected using tables or a rough rule of thumb. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, Polaris will not always be the pole star. Over tens of thousands of years, perturbations to the Earth's axis of rotation will cause it to point to other regions of the sky, tracing out a circle. Other stars along this circle were the pole star in the past and will be again in the future, including Thuban and Vega. In the near future, Polaris is due to become an even more accurate pole star; the distance between Polaris and the pole will reach a minimum (of just under ½ degree) in 2100. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is easy to find Polaris by following the line traced from Merak to Dubhe (β and α Ursae Majoris, also known as the Pointers), the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper. One can also follow the central point of the "W" shape of Cassiopeia. Polaris is not visible from the Southern Hemisphere except from an elevated position near the equator. Polaris's fame as the North Star has given rise to a persistent misconception that it is the brightest star in the sky. Although Polaris is a relatively bright star and is conspicuous since no other stars of similar brightness are close to it, it is nowhere near the brightest; it is actually the 48th brightest star in the night sky. The brightest star in the sky (besides the Sun) is Sirius (see Winter sky and List of brightest stars). There is no real southern pole star. The only star visible to the naked eye that is close to the south celestial pole is the dim Sigma Octantis, sometimes called Polaris Australis. However, the bright Southern Cross (Crux) points fairly accurately towards the south celestial pole."

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29 comments

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  • Very nice and beautiful picture

    said photo of grosnounours105 grosnounours105 2008.01.05 at 03:24:06 PST

  • Awesome! ~Deb & Rick~

    said photo of AKaurora AKaurora 2007.12.31 at 23:03:38 PST

  • Dreamy and gorgeous!

    said photo of ornella173 ornella173 2007.12.25 at 07:53:59 PST

  • This is not only an awesome photo but the info is quite a revelation if you are unfamiliar with 'stars'. I have only seen them frm the point of gazing up into the night skies with wonder at all the things you see up there. Thank you for sharing - I have been a star gazer since childhood but was not my main focus - life called. Am now 67 and still love to gaze upward so I can see if anything new is there for me. GLW to look up and see whats up there.

    said photo of gwenlwright101 gwenlwright101 2007.10.26 at 02:07:10 PDT

  • Beautiful & Moody! Thanks for Sharon! :)

    said photo of stoneycreeks stoneycreeks 2007.10.25 at 17:57:13 PDT

  • GORGEOUS - JUST WOW!!! - THANKS FOR SHARING!

    said photo of nkburton nkburton 2007.10.19 at 19:54:38 PDT

  • I'm not sure why but this one makes me think of Christmas. It's a wonderful shot Sharon!

    said photo of whimsycreek whimsycreek 2007.10.15 at 06:00:44 PDT

  • This is magical!...a most worthy Feature. You put so much Heart and Soul into each Picture and it's Narrative, I am humbled....enjoy the Rewards of your Endeavours....Helen.

    said photo of helenpender50 helenpender50 2007.10.06 at 22:15:01 PDT

  • Sharon, I'm late too and often caught out by the hemispherical differences of where we live on the planet, but just wanted to warmly congratulate you on your feature - I am so happy for you. Your photography is wonderful and artistic - you should be featured every day! Warmest regards, Coco

    said photo of kayandjay100 kayandjay100 2007.10.04 at 05:58:54 PDT

  • Sorry I'm a day late - congratulations on your feature in Entertainment, Digital Art! I loved this photo the first time I saw it - another beauty to be featured!

    said photo of jannetie jannetie 2007.10.04 at 01:41:50 PDT

  • A lovely image and an absolutely fascinating narrative:)

    said photo of coni_fer01 coni_fer01 2007.09.01 at 23:10:17 PDT

  • I knew I was here before, your pictures are just too good not to be revisited. Have a nice weekend!

    said photo of marionw104102 marionw104102 2007.08.31 at 22:53:30 PDT

  • Fabulous place to live as we see pictures like these!

    said photo of dianeaub dianeaub 2007.08.26 at 12:38:50 PDT

  • How beautiful!! ...and thanks for your commentary.... I found it very interesting!!

    said photo of judyscholten judyscholten 2007.08.22 at 09:43:44 PDT

  • Very pretty!

    said photo of haneveercoremansshots haneveercoremanssh... 2007.08.22 at 05:24:28 PDT

  • I love this shot of the polaris. The clouds and silhoutted spruces add so much to it. Oh and the explanation was so wonderful. How can I get a copy of it? It would not print for me.---I wanted to put that red flag up, does that album still exist? I could not get through. So, I put the name "Kelli" into the picture search and believe it or not, there are more then a million of it. I still can't believe that, may be my eyes read it wrong. Best to one of my favorite photographers, am looking forward to browsing more through your albums.

    said photo of marionw104102 marionw104102 2007.08.21 at 02:18:02 PDT

  • Beautiful both view and info. Thank you, Sharon. Claudia

    said photo of sstarlights sstarlights 2007.08.16 at 04:49:12 PDT

  • Ahhhh, each one more magical than the last! I am in awe!

    said photo of seawitchinak seawitchinak 2007.08.06 at 12:45:06 PDT

  • Your explanations are extremly cool and your titles too, and this picture is REALLY Cool!!!!!!!!! hugs, Tonya

    said photo of Tonyaalex3 Tonyaalex3 2007.07.31 at 03:55:32 PDT

  • beautiful skies

    said photo of enemaria100 enemaria100 2007.07.26 at 07:16:37 PDT

  • Beautiful and interesting...Rick

    said photo of supercrans100 supercrans100 2007.07.25 at 21:49:02 PDT

  • Your images are beautiful, filled with emotion.

    said photo of jannetie jannetie 2007.06.25 at 11:33:42 PDT

  • Such an evocative scene! So fascinating! Roberto

    said photo of olditaliantree olditaliantree 2007.06.21 at 16:40:52 PDT

  • A wonderfully dramatic photo! I love all the info that comes with your albums too. I appreciate all the effort, time, and thought you must put into your albums- Jess

    said photo of jessdian2 jessdian2 2007.06.18 at 19:10:43 PDT

  • Very interesting!

    said photo of lovejoy lovejoy 2007.06.14 at 04:33:37 PDT

  • What a sight to behold and in your usual style you have afforded us so much wonderful information. Thank you Sharon.

    said photo of suetang1 suetang1 2007.06.11 at 20:28:59 PDT

  • So marvelous picture Sharon, and your texts are always very interesting, a real lesson of geography and astronomy, thanks a lot

    said photo of mariellefrigault mariellefrigault 2007.06.10 at 18:21:47 PDT

  • This is just incredible. A beautiful scene.

    said photo of windflowers43 windflowers43 2007.06.10 at 17:37:33 PDT

  • A work of art in every sense... stunning!

    said photo of PixelCanvasStudio PixelCanvasStudio 2007.06.10 at 16:35:27 PDT

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