August 4, 2024. Stargazing 1. Polaris

Today I am starting the section called Stargazing.

Polaris is a very easy to find star in the northern hemisphere. It is also called the North Star because in this present epoch it is always due North. Due to its position in the Celestial Sphere (very close to the North Pole of it), the way to find it is by facing North and look up to an altitude similar to the latitude you are located at. For example, if you are in Miami, Florida, which is located at 25 degrees North, look up to an altitude of 25 degrees and you will find Polaris. Alternatively, you can find the Big Dipper and draw an imaginary line that extends from the stars at the end of the Big Dipper's "cup", about 5 times the distance between those 2 stars.

Polaris is a very bright start, absolute magnitude -3.6

Image of Telescope Star and Moon obtained from the public domain. Team445, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.