Steve’s Virtual Planet

Finding Polaris

A common question arises about sky watching that I wanted to address, namely, “How do I find Polaris, the North Star”? It’s a great question as well as it is often asked. For many people, the first assumption about Polaris is that it is a bright star so it should be easy to see. And, of course, it’s the North Star so it should be in the North, right?

Well, it’s in the North sure enough but it’s not as bright as one might think with such an important name to all of us living the northern hemisphere. However, we can use several other stars as pointers to easily find Polaris. If we can find one of the two constellations Ursa Major or Cassiopeia, we can get to Polaris easily.

Below are some links that will help you find your way to the North Star.

links:

Wikipedia - The Big Dipper as Guidepost

FVAC - Finding your way in the sky

See how you go finding North and also finding Polaris, the North Star.