For thousands of years, the North Star has been a guiding light for navigators and travelers,
helping them sail the seas and cross the wilderness without losing their way.
Formally known as Polaris, the North Star has served as a beacon of hope and inspiration
for many.
The North Star isn't the brightest star in the night sky.
It only ranks 48 on the list of brightest stars.
It s not very big nor is it very old.
In fact, there s nothing that s very special about the North Star except for one thing
- Where it s located.
The North Star can be found almost exactly above the North Pole.
In astronomy, this point in space is called the north celestial pole, which also aligns
with the Earth s axis.
As the Earth spins on its axis, all stars seem to circle around this point.
The North Star, however, appears fixed in position.
Think of it like spinning a basketball on your finger.
The point where your finger touches the ball stays in the same place, just like the North
Star in the sky.
But the points far from the axis of rotation seem to revolve around it.
Unfortunately, there isn't a star in the south-facing end of the axis, so there s no South Star.
The North Star always points to the north, just like a landmark or sky marker that helps
in determining direction.
If you're facing the North Star, the east would be on your right, the west on your left,
and the south at your back.
If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you will be able to find the North Star at any
time of the year and at any hour of the night.
If you were to stand in the North Pole, you would see Polaris directly overhead.
However, it will drop below the horizon once you travel south of the equator.
Polaris hasn't been the only North Star and thousands of years from now, other stars will
take its place.
Our planet is like a spinning top or coin that moves along large circles in the sky
over a period of 26,000 years.
In astronomy, this celestial phenomenon is called axial precession.
The Earth rotates on its axis, but the axis itself is also slowly moving in its own circle
due to the gravitational influence of the Sun, Moon, and planets.
All this means that the North Pole aligns toward various stars over time which means
that different stars will serve as a North Star at one point or another.
The phenomenon was discovered by Greek astronomer Hipparchus in 129 BC after he noticed different
star positions compared to the earlier records written by the Babylonians.
The ancient Egyptians saw the star Thuban in the constellation Draco as their North
Star, instead of Polaris.
Around 400 BCE, during the time of Plato, Kochab was the North Star.
Polaris seems to have been first charted by astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in 169 CE.
At present, Polaris is the star nearest to the North Pole.
In about 3000 years, the star Gamma Cephei will be the new North Star.
Around the year 14,000 CE, our North Pole will point to the star Vega in the constellation
Lyra, which would be the North Star of our future descendants.
But don t feel bad for Polaris, as it will once again become the North Star after 26,000
years!
.. How to Find the North Star
If you're looking for Polaris, it helps to know a little about the constellation it belongs
to.
Polaris is a part of the constellation Ursa Minor, which consists of stars that make up
the Little Dipper.
The North Star marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, whose stars are much
fainter compared to those of the Big Dipper.
The Little Dipper is hard to find in a bright sky, so people find Polaris by looking for
the pointer stars of the Big Dipper, the Dubhe, and Merak.
These are called pointer stars because they always point to the North Star.
These two stars trace the outer part of the Big Dipper s bowl.
Simply imagine a straight line that extends about five times beyond Dubhe and Merak, and
you'll see Polaris.
Interestingly, the Big Dipper, just like a big hour hand, circles Polaris all night long.
Still, its pointer stars always point to the North Star, which is at the center of the
celestial clock.
The North Star can be seen every night from the northern hemisphere, but exactly where
you see it will depend on your latitude.
While Polaris appears directly overhead at the North Pole, it would appear to sit right
on the horizon at the equator.
So how has the north star been used to aid in navigation?
By the 5th century, Macedonian historian Joannes Stobaeus described the North Star as being
always visible, so it eventually became a tool for navigation.
During the Age of Exploration in the 15th through 17th centuries, it was used to tell
which way was north.
The North Star can also be a useful navigation aid for determining a person's latitude on
the northern horizon.
The angle from the horizon to Polaris would be the same as your latitude.
Navigators used instruments like the astrolabe, which calculates the position of the stars
with respect to the horizon and meridian.
Another useful instrument was nocturnal, which makes use of the position of Polaris compared
to the star Kochab, now known as Beta Ursae Minoris.
It gives the same information as a sundial, but it can be used at night.
The invention of modern instruments has made navigation easier, and while the north star
does t hold the same importance it once did, it remains symbolic for all sailors.
. Apart from being the guiding star, the North
Star also played a role in the history and religious beliefs of different cultures.
The ancient Egyptians depended upon the stars to guide them, so it's not surprising that
they also built their temples and pyramids based on astronomical positions.
They even gave pyramids star-themed names.
Because of the belief that the pharaohs would become stars in the northern sky after they
died, it was thought that aligning the pyramids would help these rulers join the stars.
Some scholars suggest that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built to align with the North
Star, which in the year 2467 BCE was Thuban, not Polaris.
. In American history, the North Star played
a role in helping African American slaves find their way north to freedom.
The Underground Railroad wasn't an actual railroad.
Instead, it included secret routes such as safe houses, churches, private homes, meeting
points, rivers, caves, and forests.
One of the best-known conductors of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman, who mastered
the navigation skills of following the North Star.
She helped others seek freedom in the north with the help of the North Star in the night
sky, which showed them the direction headed to the northern United States and Canada.
After the end of the Civil War, the African American folksong Follow the Drinking Gourd
became popular.
The term drinking gourd was a code name for the Big Dipper, which was used by escaping
slaves to locate Polaris.
There was also an anti-slavery newspaper The North Star, which focused on the fight to
end slavery in America.
Apart from its practical uses, the north star has come to represent various concepts, making
it a meaningful symbol.
Here are some of the meanings it symbolizes.
Guidance and Direction If you're in the northern hemisphere, you
can figure out your direction by finding the North Star.
For thousands of years, it has been a handy survival tool for navigators and travelers,
even in the darkest of nights.
In fact, it's more accurate than a compass.
It provides direction and helps people to stay on their course.
Even today, knowing how to find the North Star remains one of the most basic survival
skills.
Life s Purpose and Passion Ancient navigators observed that all the stars
in the sky seem to circle around the North Star.
By the 17th century, the North Star was used figuratively for anything that was the focus
of attention.
Due to this, the North Star also became associated with life s purpose, the heart s true desires,
and unchangeable ideals to follow in life.
Constancy or Inconstancy The North Star seems to be the center of the
star field, associating it with constancy.
Even though it does move a little in the night sky, it has been used as a metaphor for constancy
in several poems and song lyrics.
In 1609, William Shakespeare s Sonnet 116 also uses the North Star or a pole star as
a metaphor for true love.
In it, Shakespeare writes that love isn't true if it changes with time but instead should
be like the ever-fixed North Star.
In another Shakespearean work, Julius Caesar, the title character states, But I am constant
as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in
the firmament.
However, modern discoveries reveal that the North Star isn't as constant as it seems,
so it can sometimes represent the opposite.
In modern astronomical terms, Caesar was basically saying that he was an unstable person.
Freedom, Inspiration, and Hope During slavery in the United States, escaped
slaves would rely on the North Star to find their way into the northern states and Canada.
Most slaves didn't have compasses or maps, but the North Star gave them hope and freedom,
by showing them the starting point and continuous connections on their journey northward.
Good Luck Since seeing the North Star meant sailors
were on their way home, the North Star also became a symbol of good luck.
In fact, the North Star is common in tattoos, especially for seafarers, in hopes of keeping
luck with them all the time.
Today, the North Star remains symbolic.
The North Star is a common theme in different works of art, tattoos, and jewelry design.
It continues to be a symbol of inspiration, hope, guidance, and of finding your purpose
and passion.
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