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The Earth's rotation 'precesses' in response to the gravitational attraction between
the Moon and the Earth's tidal bulge. One result of the precession is that the point
to which the Earth's north pole points traces a 23.5-degree circle in the sky.
Right now, tonight (September 3, 2012), it's pointing to a spot in the sky that's less
than 1/3 degree from Polaris. So tonight, Polaris is a pretty accurate marker of the
north celestial pole. But the pole is moving around on this gigantic circle in the sky,
so Polaris won't remain such a good marker for the pole.
But if you wait around long enough, it'll come back to Polaris, because it's tracing
a circle. It traces around the whole circle in about 26,000 years.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoPolaris will not always be the pole star due to relatively slow movement of the Earth's axis called 'precession'. We can understand this movement by comparing Earth to a spinning top (a gyroscope like toy for kids). As soon as the top starts spinning it's axis starts to perform little circles - it 'wobbles.' The same happens to the Earth axis: It perform little circles but relatively slow. The period to complete a full circle is about 25'800 years.
Therefore, Earth's axis is not pointing to the same spot in space (as e.g. Polaris) but changes it's pointing continuously on a very slow scale. After roughly 13'000 Earth's axis will point in direction of Vega, a bright star in the constellation of Lyra and in 25'800 years from today, it will point exactly to the same spot as tonight: near Polaris.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoPolaris is called the "pole star" because it is, within about 2/3 of a degree, precisely over the north geographic pole of the Earth. For now.
The Earth spins like a gyroscope, and like a gyroscope, is subject to "precession". That means that the Earth's gyroscope makes very large VERY SLOW swings around the sky; swings of about 30 degrees. The precession cycle takes about 28,000 years to complete, so humans haven't had a chance to observe the changes. But in about 15,000 years, the star "Vega" will be the "pole star", and Polaris will be some 3rd magnitude star that nobody pays any attention to.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoNo. We think of the Earth as rotating in a perfectly steady direction, like a gyroscope, which is a very good way of looking at it. Buy a gyroscope isn't stable, either; it "wobbles", and so does the Earth, taking about 26,000 years for one wobble.
Polaris happens to be the "pole star" now, but wasn't before, and it will change again. In a few thousand years, there won't be a "pole star", and in 14000 years or so, the "pole star" will be the giant Vega. And in 26000 years, it will be Polaris again.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoPolaris is near the sky's north pole - the axis around which the sky seems to move around us (the extension of Earth's axis).
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoNo stars within (your north latitude) of Polaris appear to rise or set.
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Why do stars and constellations also appear to rise and set?
They appear to rise and set as a result of Earth's rotation.
Does the big dipper circle the pole star?
Because of the special position of the pole star Polaris in our sky, _ALL_ of the stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west, or to circle Polaris. Stars close to Polaris in the sky, including the stars that make up the Big Dipper, do seem to circle Polaris. In reality, of course, it is the Earth itself which is spinning and taking us along for the ride. From the perspective of an observer elsewhere in the solar system, all of the stars including Polaris appear to be fixed in space and unchanging. Over the course of thousands of years, the constellations that we know will be distorted and become broken, as each star follows its own path through the Galaxy.
Why can you see some stars all the time and not others?
It depends on where you are, if you are in the northern hemisphere (the same applies for the southen hemisphere) then due to he earth being on a tilt then stars rise and set behind the horizon all except the stars closest to Polaris (north star) because of where Polaris is in relation to the earths tilt, it happens to be above the north pole and always visible.
Do the stars rise in the sky from the east?
Earth rotates toward the east, so all stars appear to rise in the east.
Do stars constellations also appear to rise and set?
Every natural object in the sky appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
Do Saturn and Earth both have Polaris as a pole star?
No because it's just a coincidence that the Earth's axis points to Polaris just now. In 13,000 years time Polaris will be 47 degrees from the true north point that it occupies today, so it will rise and set just like other stars.
How do you know if you are in east or west of mount ida?
If the sun or stars appear to rise from behind the mountain then you are to its west, otherwise you are to its east.
Do the sun moon and stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west because of the rotation of the moon?
No, it is due to the rotation of the Earth.
How stars appear to move when you face east?
In that case, they will move up. They rise, as Earth rotates eastward.
When viewing west in which direction do stars set?
Whether you view west or in some other direction, many stars will rise in the east and set in the west. However, stars that are far north, for example, might rise in the north-east and set in the north-west; some stars might even rise and set almost north. Similarly, other stars may rise in the south-east, and set in the south-west, etc.
Which star always appears in the same spot every night?
No, because the world is always spinning. Polaris (north star) appears in the same location (omitting precession, nutation, and polar motion) and the other stars appear to rotate counter clockwise around it. Alternately, stars appear to rotate clockwise around the south pole's celestial zenith (no "south star"). The stars will appear in almost the exact same spot each night as they were before at the same time. Because the earth rotates and tilts and revolves around the sun the stars will over the course of a year vary from where they appear at different times of year. _________________________________ We generally think of "one day" as being exactly 24 hours, but that's a "solar" day, with reference to the Sun. Because the Earth is moving in its orbit around the Sun, the Earth actually has to spin about 361 degrees for the Sun to appear in the same spot each day. The "sidereal" day, with reference to the fixed stars, is only 23 hours 56 minutes; that's how long it takes for the Earth to spin exactly 360 degrees, or one full circle. So the stars appear to rise about 4 minutes earlier each day.
When does polaris rise at night When does polaris set?
Because it is in line with Earth's axis of rotation, Polaris never rises or sets. It is always in the same place in the sky from any given location in the northern hemisphere.
