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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.

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12y ago

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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.


Why do stars and constellations also appear to rise and set?

Stars and constellations appear to rise and set due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis. As the Earth rotates, different stars and constellations come into view or move out of view from a specific location on Earth, giving the illusion of them rising and setting.


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.


In the northern hemisphere there are some stars that do not appear to rise or set as other stars do These stars are?

Circumpolar stars. In the northern hemisphere, the north star does not rise or set; the north pole is always pointing toward it. The canopy of stars moves around the north star over the course of a day, giving the apparent rising in the east and setting in the west of most stars as the canopy dips below and moves above the horizon. The stars that are close enough to the north star never set. The part of the canopy that is visible at night changes over the course of a year.


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?

The sun, moon, and stars all appear to rise in the east and set in the west due to the Earth's rotation on its axis. This rotation causes all celestial bodies to appear to move across the sky from east to west. The moon's own orbit around the Earth affects its position, but it does not directly impact the sun and stars.


How stars appear to move when you face east?

In that case, they will move up. They rise, as Earth rotates eastward.


Stars appear in fixed locations in the sky because they?

Stars appear in fixed locations in the sky because of the Earth's rotation and the position of the stars in relation to our planet. This causes the stars to rise and set at predictable times each day.


Why do stars appear one by one?

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