Well, isn't that a lovely thought! If Polaris is directly overhead, that means you are standing precisely at the North Pole on our beautiful planet Earth. How delightful it would be to look up and see the North Star shining down right above you in the vast night sky. Just picture it and let that feeling of wonder fill your heart.
They're called the celestial poles and they move over time (due to Earth's precession).If the axis of the Earth were extended into space, the North Pole would point almost exactly at the giant star appropriately called Polaris, in the tail of the Little Bear or handle of the Little Dipper. The South Pole doesn't have so convenient a marker; it would fall several degrees away from the long axis of a small bright asterism known as Crux, the Southern Cross. The nearest visible star to the south celestial pole is a very dim star called Sigma Octantis, and even it's not really all that close to the pole (about a degree away).By 4000 AD, the celestial south pole will be very near the significantly brighter (though, at about magnitude 4, still quite a bit dimmer than Polaris) Gamma Chameleontis. At that time the north celestial pole will be very close to Gamma Cephei, a magnitude 3.2 star (also dimmer than Polaris, which is magnitude 2).Unfortunately, between now and then, the celestial poles won't point to any stars in particular. By about 3000AD, there will be no notable stars very near either of them.
Your location must be located on the Earth's axis, specifically at the North or South Pole. At these locations, the stars appear to move in circles around the celestial pole that is directly overhead.
You would be pretty darn close to the north pole. _______________________ Specifically, you would be within about 40 miles of the north pole. Polaris is about 2/3 of a degree away from being directly above the north pole.
The celestial pole is directly above Earth's geographic poles, so to place a celestial pole at your zenith you would need to be at either the North Pole or the South Pole. At these locations, the celestial pole would be directly overhead, making it appear as if the axis of Earth's rotation extended into the sky.
If you were standing at Earth's North Pole, the North Star, also known as Polaris, would be located directly in the zenith, or straight overhead. This is because Polaris is situated very close to the celestial north pole in the night sky.
At the south pole.
Since Polaris is located at the North Celestial Pole, if you are standing on Earth's equator, Polaris will not be visible directly overhead. Instead, it would be located on the northern horizon due to the Earth's curvature and your position relative to the pole.
No. Polaris is located almost directly over the north pole and so is never visible in the southern hemisphere. There is no corresponding star for the south pole.
Yes. Polaris (The Pole Star) Is very nearly overhead at the North Pole. As the Earth turns on it's axis all the other starts appear to move overhead in an arc. As Polaris is near the centre of rotation, it only appears to move in a small circle.
180° north longitude
Well, isn't that a lovely thought! If Polaris is directly overhead, that means you are standing precisely at the North Pole on our beautiful planet Earth. How delightful it would be to look up and see the North Star shining down right above you in the vast night sky. Just picture it and let that feeling of wonder fill your heart.
No... Polaris is another name for the North star - which is only visible in the Northern hemisphere.
The asterism called the "Big Dipper" (which is the central part of the constellation named "Ursa Major") has two fairly prominent stars which act as a pointer to the north star Polaris. Polaris is a relatively dim and undistinguished star whose positioning almost directly above the north pole is very conveniently located in the sky.
They're called the celestial poles and they move over time (due to Earth's precession).If the axis of the Earth were extended into space, the North Pole would point almost exactly at the giant star appropriately called Polaris, in the tail of the Little Bear or handle of the Little Dipper. The South Pole doesn't have so convenient a marker; it would fall several degrees away from the long axis of a small bright asterism known as Crux, the Southern Cross. The nearest visible star to the south celestial pole is a very dim star called Sigma Octantis, and even it's not really all that close to the pole (about a degree away).By 4000 AD, the celestial south pole will be very near the significantly brighter (though, at about magnitude 4, still quite a bit dimmer than Polaris) Gamma Chameleontis. At that time the north celestial pole will be very close to Gamma Cephei, a magnitude 3.2 star (also dimmer than Polaris, which is magnitude 2).Unfortunately, between now and then, the celestial poles won't point to any stars in particular. By about 3000AD, there will be no notable stars very near either of them.
Beautiful question !! Circumpolar stars and constellations are stars and constellations the "go around the pole" = Circum (circle) polar (the pole) The North Star is called "Polaris" because it's directly above Earth's North Pole - in other words, if you went to the North Pole, "polaris" would be directly over your head. Because of this, all of the stars appear to pivot around Polaris as Earth rotates. Now I don't know where you live, but if you live in the United States, Polaris would NOT be overhead - it would be lower in the sky but still in the North. The lower on the globe you live, the lower Polaris appears in the sky. So, the stars and constellations that spin around Polaris but DON'T SET, are called circumpolar stars and constellations.
The angle of Polaris above the horizon is equal to the latitude of the observer. This means that at the North Pole (90 degrees latitude), Polaris would be directly overhead (90 degrees above the horizon), and at the Equator (0 degrees latitude), Polaris would be on the horizon (0 degrees above the horizon).