"star"", cognate with the Old Norse ""leiðarstjarna"", Middle High German ""leitsterne"". The ancient name of the constellation Ursa Minor, ""Cynosura"" (from the Greek ""the dog’s tail"" ) became associated with the pole star in particular by the early modern period. An explicit identification of Mary as ""stella maris"" with the polar star (""Stella Polaris""), as well as the use of ""Cyonsura"" as a name of the star, is evident in the title ""Cynosura seu Mariana Stella Polaris"" (i.e. ""Cynosure, or the Marian Polar Star""), a collection of Marian poetry published by Nicolaus Lucensis (Niccolo Barsotti de Lucca) in 1655. In"
"the North Star. Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation, is a yellow-white supergiant and the brightest Cepheid variable star in the night sky, ranging from an apparent magnitude of 1.97 to 2.00. Beta Ursae Minoris, also known as Kochab, is an aging star that has swollen and cooled to become an orange giant with an apparent magnitude of 2.08, only slightly fainter than Polaris. Kochab and magnitude 3 Gamma Ursae Minoris have been called the ""guardians of the pole star"". Planets have been detected orbiting four of the stars, including Kochab. The constellation also contains an isolated neutron star—Calvera—and"
"remain in use, likely because of their proximity to the north celestial pole. Within the constellation's borders, there are 39 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. Marking the Little Bear's tail, Polaris, or Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the brightest star in the constellation, varying between apparent magnitude 1.97 and 2.00 over a period of 3.97 days. Located around 432 light-years away from Earth, it is a yellow-white supergiant that varies between spectral types F7Ib and F8Ib, and has around 6 times the Sun's mass, 2,500 times its luminosity and 45 times its radius. Polaris is the brightest"
"Polaris is also known as the North Star, and is generically called a pole star or lodestar. Polaris is only visible during fair weather at night to inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere. The asterism ""Big Dipper"" may be used to find Polaris. The 2 corner stars of the ""pan"" (those opposite from the handle) point above the top of the ""pan"" to Polaris. While observers in the Northern hemisphere can use the star Polaris to determine the Northern celestial pole, the Octans constellation's South Star is hardly visible enough to use for navigation. For this reason, the preferred alternative is"
"a subsequent immortal existence in the realm of the stars). A consequence of the precession is a changing pole star. Currently Polaris is extremely well suited to mark the position of the north celestial pole, as Polaris is a moderately bright star with a visual magnitude of 2.1 (variable), and it is located about one degree from the pole, with no stars of similar brightness too close. The previous pole star was Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris, β UMi, β Ursae Minoris), the brightest star in the bowl of the ""Little Dipper"", located 16 degrees from Polaris. It held that role"
"Pole star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, closely aligned to the axis of rotation of an astronomical object. With regard to planet Earth, the pole star refers to Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a magnitude 2 star aligned approximately with its northern axis, and a pre-eminent star in celestial navigation. In classical antiquity, Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) was closer to the celestial north pole than Alpha Ursae Minoris. While there was no naked-eye star close to the pole, the midpoint between Alpha and Beta Ursae Minoris was reasonably close to the pole, and it appears"
"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, and today it is invisible in light-polluted urban skies. During the 1st millennium BC, Beta Ursae Minoris (""Kochab"") was the bright star closest to the celestial pole, but it was never close enough to be taken as marking the pole, and the Greek navigator Pytheas in ca. 320 BC described the celestial pole as devoid of stars. In the Roman era, the celestial pole was about equally distant between Polaris and Kochab. The precession of the equinoxes"
"12,000 years, Vega (Alpha Lyrae) will become our north star, but it will be about six degrees from the true north celestial pole. To find Polaris, face north and locate the Big Dipper (Plough) and Little Dipper asterisms. Looking at the ""cup"" part of the Big Dipper, imagine that the two stars at the outside edge of the cup form a line pointing upward out of the cup. This line points directly at the star at the tip of the Little Dipper's handle. That star is Polaris, the North Star. The south celestial pole is visible only from the Southern"
"(not shown on the main map as it is located below the map's southeastern corner, north is up). Instead, the brightest star is Epsilon Sagittarii (ε Sgr) (""Kaus Australis,"" or ""southern part of the bow""), at magnitude 1.85. Sigma Sagittarii (σ Sgr) (""Nunki"") is the constellation's second-brightest star at magnitude 2.08. Nunki is a B2V star approximately 260 light years away. ""Nunki"" is a Babylonian name of uncertain origin, but thought to represent the sacred Babylonian city of Eridu on the Euphrates, which would make Nunki the oldest star name currently in use. Zeta Sagittarii (ζ Sgr) (""Ascella""), with apparent"
"to Polaris, the north star. Based upon parallax measurements of this star, it is located at a distance of from the Sun. The spectrum shows this to have a stellar classification of A1 V, making it a fairly typical main sequence star that is generating energy through the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen at its core. The effective temperature of the outer envelope is about 9,225 K, giving it a white-hued glow that is typical for A-type stars. It is larger than the Sun, with about 2.7 times the mass and 2.84 times the Solar radius. If they were viewed from"
"Alpha Persei Alpha Persei (α Persei, abbreviated Alpha Per, α Per), also named Mirfak, is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Perseus, just outshining the constellation's best known star, Algol. α Persei has an apparent visual magnitude of 1.8, and is a circumpolar star when viewed from mid-northern latitudes. Mirfak lies in the midst of a cluster of stars named as the eponymous Alpha Persei Cluster, or ""Melotte 20"", which is easily visible in binoculars and includes many of the fainter stars in the constellation. Determined distance using the trigonometric parallax, places the star from the Sun. The"
"not ""constantly"" remain as the north star due to precession, but this is only noticeable over centuries. In Inuit astronomy, Polaris is known as ""Niqirtsuituq"". It is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of the Canadian Inuit territory of Nunavut, as well as on the flag of the U.S. state of Alaska. Because Polaris 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 in the sky, and all the stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent"
"held by Polaris which is just 0.5° off of the precessional path. Both δ Cygni A and B have been suspected to vary in brightness. δ Cygni A was reported in 1951 as varying between magnitudes 2.85 and 2.89, and δ Cygni B was reported in 1837 to vary between magnitudes 6.3 and 8.5. The variability of the stars has not been confirmed. Delta Cygni Delta Cygni (δ Cygni, abbreviated Delta Cyg, δ Cyg) is a binary star of a combined third-magnitude in the constellation of Cygnus. It is also part of the Northern Cross asterism whose brightest star is"
"Alpha Fornacis Alpha Fornacis (α Fornacis, abbreviated Alpha For, α For), also designated 12 Eridani, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Fornax. It is the brightest star in the constellation and the only one brighter than magnitude 4.0. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 46 light-years (14 parsecs) distant from the Sun. Its two components are designated Alpha Fornacis A (also named Dalim) and B. ""α Fornacis"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Fornacis"") is the system's Bayer designation, ""12 Eridani"" its Flamsteed designation. The designations of the two components as ""Alpha Fornacis"
"southern hemisphere's pole star it bore the name ""Polaris Australis"", first applied in the 1700s. In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name ""Polaris Australis"" for this star on 5 September 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names. It is the southernmost named star. Sigma Octantis is the southern pole star, whose counterpart is Polaris, the current North Star. To an observer in the southern hemisphere, Sigma Octantis appears almost motionless and all the other stars"
"again around the year 14,000); however, it never comes closer than 5° to the pole. When Polaris becomes the north star again around 27,800, due to its proper motion it then will be farther away from the pole than it is now, while in 23,600 BC it came closer to the pole. It is more difficult to find the south celestial pole in the sky at this moment, as that area is a particularly bland portion of the sky, and the nominal south pole star is Sigma Octantis, which with magnitude 5.5 is barely visible to the naked eye even"
"of names approved by the WGSN; which included ""Arcturus"" for this star. It is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius (−1.46 apparent magnitude), Canopus (−0.72) and Alpha Centauri AB (−0.27). However, Alpha Centauri AB is a binary star, whose unresolved components to the naked eye are both fainter than Arcturus. This makes Arcturus the third-brightest individual star, just ahead of Alpha Centauri A, whose apparent magnitude is −0.01. The"
"1° of the position of Polaris, so that the star would appear to trace a tiny circle in the sky each sidereal day. Due to the axial precession of Earth, true north rotates in an arc with respect to the stars that takes approximately 25,000 years to complete. Around 2100–02, Polaris will make its closest approach to the celestial north pole (extrapolated from recent Earth precession). The visible star nearest the north celestial pole 5,000 years ago was Thuban. On maps published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the United States Armed Forces, true north is marked with"
"from 1500 BC to AD 500 . It was not quite as accurate in its day as Polaris is today. Today, Kochab and its neighbor Pherkad are referred to as the ""Guardians of the Pole"" (meaning Polaris). On the other hand, Thuban in the constellation Draco, which was the pole star in 3000 BC, is much less conspicuous at magnitude 3.67 (one-fifth as bright as Polaris); today it is invisible in light-polluted urban skies. The brilliant Vega in the constellation Lyra is often touted as the best north star (it fulfilled that role around 12,000 BC and will do so"
"Epsilon Pegasi Epsilon Pegasi (ε Pegasi, abbreviated Epsilon Peg, ε Peg), also named Enif (EE-nif), is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Pegasus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.4, this is a second-magnitude star that is readily visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star can be estimated using parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, yielding a value of around . ""ε Pegasi"" (Latinised to ""Epsilon Pegasi"") is the star's Bayer designation. It bore the traditional name ""Enif"" derived from the Arabic word for 'nose', due to its position as the muzzle of Pegasus."
"which time the pole of the Earth's rotation follows a circular path across the celestial sphere that passes near several prominent stars. At present the pole star is Polaris, but around 12,000 BC the pole was pointed only five degrees away from Vega. Through precession, the pole will again pass near Vega around AD 14,000. Vega is the brightest of the successive northern pole stars. This star lies at a vertex of a widely spaced asterism called the Summer Triangle, which consists of Vega plus the two first-magnitude stars Altair, in Aquila, and Deneb in Cygnus. This formation is the"
"Musca Borealis Musca Borealis (Latin for ""northern fly"") was a constellation, now discarded, located between the constellations of Aries and Perseus. It was originally called Apes (plural of Apis, Latin for bee) by Petrus Plancius when he created it in 1612. It was made up of a small group of stars, now called 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis, in the north of the constellation of Aries. The brightest star is now known as 41 Arietis. At magnitude 3.63, it is a blue-white main sequence star of spectral type B8V around 166 light-years distant. 39 Arietis is"
"the pole, at about the same distance from it, such that an imaginary line between the two stars will nearly pass through Polaris. Visible halfway between the Belt of Orion and Polaris, Capella is at its highest in the night sky at midnight in early December and is regarded as a prominent star of the winter sky in the northern hemisphere. A few degrees to the southwest of Capella lie three stars Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta Aurigae, the latter two of which are known as ""The Kids"", or Haedi. The four form a familiar pattern, or asterism, in the sky."
"barium, which may be the result of the S-process of nucleosynthesis in the outer atmosphere of the star. It has a relatively high peculiar velocity of . \end{align}</math></ref> Epsilon Pegasi Epsilon Pegasi (ε Pegasi, abbreviated Epsilon Peg, ε Peg), also named Enif (EE-nif), is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Pegasus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.4, this is a second-magnitude star that is readily visible to the naked eye. The distance to this star can be estimated using parallax measurements from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, yielding a value of around . ""ε Pegasi"" (Latinised to ""Epsilon"
"Polaris, which is slightly brighter and will have a much closer alignment of less than 0.5° by 2100 AD. This change in the identity of the pole stars is a result of Earth's precessional motion. After 2000 BCE, Kochab and a new star, its neighbor Pherkad, were closer to the pole and together served as twin pole stars, circling the North Pole, from around 1700 BCE until just after 300 AD. Neither star was as proximitous to the celestial north pole as Polaris is now. Today, they are sometimes referred to as the ""Guardians of the Pole."" Estimated to be"
"is known as (, .) Parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos astrometry satellite place Pollux at a distance of about from the Sun. At an apparent visual magnitude of 1.14, Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation, brighter even than its neighbor Castor (Alpha Geminorum). The star is larger than the Sun, with about two times its mass and almost nine times its radius. Once an A-type main sequence star, Pollux has exhausted the hydrogen at its core and evolved into a giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III. The effective temperature of this star's outer envelope"
"Alpha Gruis Alpha Gruis, Latinized from α Gruis, also named Alnair, is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Grus. ""α Gruis"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Gruis"") is the star's Bayer designation. (Its first depiction in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's ""Uranometria"" of 1603.) It bore the traditional name ""Alnair"" or ""Al Nair"" (sometimes ""Al Na'ir"" in lists of stars used by navigators), from the Arabic ""al-nayyir"" <nowiki>[</nowiki>an-nai:r<nowiki>]</nowiki>, meaning ""the bright one"", itself derived from its Arabic name, ""al-Nayyir min Dhanab al-ḥūt (al-Janūbiyy)"", ""the Bright (star) belongs to the Tail of (the constellation of) the (Southern) Fish"". Confusingly,"
"Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, also designated Alpha Orionis (α Orionis, abbreviated Alpha Ori, α Ori), is on average the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion. It is distinctly reddish, and is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.0 and 1.3, the widest range of any first-magnitude star. Betelgeuse is one of three stars that make up the asterism of the Winter Triangle, and it marks the center of the Winter Hexagon. If the human eye could view all wavelengths of radiation, Betelgeuse would be the brightest star in the night sky. Classified"
"Hamal Hamal, alternatively designated Alpha Arietis (α Arietis, abbreviated Alpha Ari, α Ari), is the brightest star in the northern zodiacal constellation of Aries. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.0, it is among the brightest stars in the night sky. Based upon parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, Hamal is about from Earth. It is a giant star that may host an orbiting planet with a mass greater than Jupiter. ""Alpha Arietis"" is the star's Bayer designation. It also bears the Flamsteed designation of 13 Arietis. The traditional name ""Hamal"" (also written ""Hemal"", ""Hamul"", ""Ras Hammel"") derives"
"the naked eye under ideal conditions) that most closely coincide with the projection of the planet's axis of rotation onto the Celestial sphere. Different planets have different pole stars because their axes are oriented differently. (See Poles of astronomical bodies.) Pole star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, closely aligned to the axis of rotation of an astronomical object. With regard to planet Earth, the pole star refers to Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a magnitude 2 star aligned approximately with its northern axis, and a pre-eminent star in celestial navigation. In classical antiquity, Beta Ursae"
"the cycle when bright stars give only an approximate guide to ""north"", as they may be greater than 5° of angular diameter removed from direct alignment with the north celestial pole. The 26,000 year cycle of North Stars, starting with the current star, with stars that will be ""near-north"" indicators when no North Star exists during the cycle, including each star's average brightness and closest alignment to the north celestial pole during the cycle: Currently, there is no South Star as useful as Polaris. Sigma Octantis is the closest naked-eye star to the south Celestial pole, but at apparent magnitude"
"margin of error). The space velocity components of this star in the Galactic coordinate system are [""U"", ""V"", ""W""] = , , . \end{align}</math></ref> Alpha Gruis Alpha Gruis, Latinized from α Gruis, also named Alnair, is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Grus. ""α Gruis"" (Latinised to ""Alpha Gruis"") is the star's Bayer designation. (Its first depiction in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's ""Uranometria"" of 1603.) It bore the traditional name ""Alnair"" or ""Al Nair"" (sometimes ""Al Na'ir"" in lists of stars used by navigators), from the Arabic ""al-nayyir"" <nowiki>[</nowiki>an-nai:r<nowiki>]</nowiki>, meaning ""the bright one"", itself derived"
"Arcturus Arcturus, also designated Alpha Boötis (α Boötis, abbreviated Alpha Boo, α Boo), is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes, the fourth-brightest in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. Together with Spica and Denebola (or Regulus, depending on the source), Arcturus is part of the Spring Triangle asterism and, by extension, also of the Great Diamond along with the star Cor Caroli. Relatively close at 36.7 light-years from the Sun, Arcturus is a red giant of spectral type K0III—an ageing star around 7.1 billion years old that has used up its core hydrogen"