First of all, we need to recall that none of this motion is real. It appears to us as if
the stars are circling in the sky, only because the Earth is spinning, carrying us along
with it, and spinning the direction in which our eyes point, once a day.
Unless you happen to be standing on the Earth's equator, you can only see one Celestial
pole ... either the north one or the south one, corresponding to which of the Earth's
hemisphere's you're standing in.
It seems to me that the stars appear to circle bothCelestial poles. If you open
a camera aimed at the night sky, and leave it open for a while, you always get
nice circular arcs traced by the stars. No matter which Celestial pole is visible
in the picture, the arcs of the stars will appear centered at it.
The great circle passing through these points is called the meridian. It is an imaginary line that runs from the north celestial pole to the south celestial pole, passing through the zenith (overhead point) and intersecting the horizon at the north and south points.
Stars near the north celestial pole appear to move in a counter-clockwise circle because of the Earth's rotation. This effect is known as the diurnal motion of stars due to the Earth's rotation on its axis. Polaris, the North Star, remains nearly stationary as other stars appear to revolve around it.
The north celestial pole is not visible from any point on Earth's surface south of the equator. This is always true. The north celestial pole is the point in the sky directly above the Earth's north pole. Even though the north celestial poles moves about in the sky, it remains invisible everywhere in the southern hemisphere. The north celestial pole moves around in a circle in the sky as the Earth's axis wobbles. Each wobble takes about 23 thousand years.
They are the constellations at the celestial north & south poles - Ursa Minor (the little bear) is at the celestial North Pole and the Southern Cross is a constellation near the celestial South Pole.
The stars, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, appear to circle around Polaris, the North star. They seem to circle around the north pole because the Earth rotates, while the stars are still. As we spin around, stars move out of our view and new ones enter. When looking up to the North pole, it is possible to see stars appear to be slowly spinning around the North star. In the Southern Hemisphere there is no conveniently located star but the stars still seem to spin around a point in the sky. The Sun seems to circle the Earth but again, the Earth is rotating and the sun is still. It's actually Earth that is spinning.
The Arctic is the north celestial pole, or the region of the Earth above the Arctic Circle, which includes the North Pole.
For example, if you live at a latitude of 50° north, the circumpolar stars will be all stars that are up to 50° around the celestial north pole. As another example, if you live at a latitude 30° south of the equator, the circumpolar stars will be all those that are in a circle up to 30° around the celestial south pole.
Yes, circumpolar stars appear to move counterclockwise around the north celestial pole due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis. This motion is known as diurnal motion and is responsible for the apparent daily movement of stars in the night sky.
The Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle
The great circle passing through these points is called the meridian. It is an imaginary line that runs from the north celestial pole to the south celestial pole, passing through the zenith (overhead point) and intersecting the horizon at the north and south points.
Stars near the north celestial pole appear to move in a counter-clockwise circle because of the Earth's rotation. This effect is known as the diurnal motion of stars due to the Earth's rotation on its axis. Polaris, the North Star, remains nearly stationary as other stars appear to revolve around it.
The celestial pole is the point in the sky directly above the Earth's North or South Pole. The North Celestial Pole is located near the North Star (Polaris), while the South Celestial Pole does not have a bright star near it. Stars appear to rotate around these points due to Earth's rotation.
The Arctic Circle around the North Pole and the Antarctic Circle around the South Pole.
Yes. The North Star is aligned with the celestial north pole.
If you were standing on the North Pole, you would be able to see all the circumpolar stars in the sky. Circumpolar stars are the stars that never set and orbit around the celestial pole. At the North Pole, they would constantly circle around Polaris, the North Star, without dipping below the horizon.
Stars near the north celestial pole and the south celestial pole become "circumpolar" at high latitudes. They "circle around the pole". For example, the star Polaris never sets anywhere in the northern hemisphere. Constellations like the Big Dipper, Draco or Cassiopeia are "circumpolar" north of about 30 degrees north latitude. While there is no "south pole star", a constellation such as the Southern Cross is circumpolar south of about 40 degrees South.