How far Polaris appears above the horizon depends on your latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. The closer you are to the North Pole, the higher Polaris will appear in the sky, reaching nearly 90 degrees at the pole itself. Conversely, as you move toward the equator, Polaris will appear closer to the horizon, disappearing entirely for observers in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, your geographic position determines the elevation of Polaris in your local sky.
Your latitude!
Polaris will be 23.5 degrees above the northern horizon when viewed from the Tropic of Cancer.
If someone is at the horizon, they would see Polaris, also known as the North Star, located at a specific angle above the horizon depending on their latitude. In the Northern Hemisphere, Polaris is positioned nearly directly above the North Pole, so it appears higher in the sky the further north one travels. At the equator, Polaris would be right at the horizon, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it would not be visible at all.
If Polaris appears 60° above the northern horizon, then you are pretty near 60° north latitude. If you're on the equator ... 0° north latitude ... then Polaris is on the horizon ... 0° altitude. If you're at the north pole ... 90° north latitude ... then Polaris is over your head ... 90° altitude. The altitude above the northern horizon at which Polaris appears is nearly identical to your north latitude. ================================================= The difference (error) between Polaris and the real North Celestial Pole is about 0.7 degree. Not good enough for precise navigation or surveying, but just fine for directions when you're hiking.
The North Star (Polaris) appears closest to the horizon at the Earth's equator (0° latitude) because as you move away from the equator towards the poles, the angle of Polaris above the horizon increases. At the North Pole (90° latitude), Polaris is directly overhead.
If Polaris cannot be seen because it is just below the horizon, you would be located at a latitude slightly south of the North Pole, specifically at a latitude near 89 degrees north. At this position, Polaris would be too low on the horizon to be visible. As you move further south, Polaris becomes visible again as you approach the latitude where it appears above the horizon.
To determine the altitude of Polaris, you can measure the angle between the horizon and Polaris using a simple instrument like a protractor or sextant. The altitude of Polaris above the horizon corresponds closely to your latitude in the Northern Hemisphere; for example, if you measure Polaris at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizon, you are approximately at 40° latitude. This relationship occurs because Polaris is positioned nearly directly above the North Pole.
The angle of Polaris above the northern horizon is very nearly equal to your north latitude, within about 1/3 of a degree. So it's over your head when you stand at the north pole, it sits nominally on your north horizon when you stand anywhere on the equator, and if you're south of the equator, you can never see it at all.
Polaris, also known as the North Star, is positioned nearly directly above the North Pole. Therefore, its altitude in degrees above the horizon corresponds closely to your latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, if you are at a latitude of 40 degrees north, Polaris would be approximately 40 degrees above the horizon.
90 degrees
The altitude doesn't depend much on whether the night is clear.If you live in the northern hemisphere, the altitude of Polaris above the horizon will APPROXIMATELY be equal to your latitude. If you live in the southern hemisphere, Polaris will be BELOW the horizon, as many degrees as you are south of the equator.
At the Tropic of Capricorn (approximately 23.5 degrees south latitude), Polaris, the North Star, is not visible and is located below the horizon. Polaris can only be seen in the Northern Hemisphere and its altitude above the horizon increases the further north you go.