The North Star

📖 In short

The North Star, or Pole Star, sits in the sky almost straight above the Earth's North Pole. So it stays in place all night while all the other stars turn around it. Travelers and sailors have found their way by it since ancient times. The Arabs call it “al-Jadi”.

🤩 Did you know?

Today's North Star is called “Polaris”, the brightest star in the Little Bear.
In about 12 thousand years, the Earth's axis will point near the star Vega.
The North Star isn't the brightest star in the sky, as some people think.
People in the southern half of the world can't see the North Star.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Why doesn't it move?

The Earth spins on its axis, so the stars seem to turn across the sky. The North Star lies almost in line with the Earth's axis, so it stays nearly still.

🔍 How do you find it?

Find the Great Bear, look at the two stars at the end of the ladle, and extend a line from them about five times as far: you'll reach the North Star, the last star in the tail of the Little Bear.

💡 The sky's compass

If you stand facing the North Star, north is in front of you, south behind, east to your right and west to your left. That's how desert travelers found their way at night.

🎯 It won't last forever

The Earth's axis wobbles very slowly like a spinning top, so the North Star changes every few thousand years. In thousands of years another star will be the North Star.