Is it true the North star always stays in the same position in the sky?

And that boats can navigate by this? If so, why?Is it true the North star always stays in the same position in the sky?
From Wikipedia :


';The North Star has been historically used by explorers to determine their latitude. At any point north of the equator the angle from the horizon to the North Star (its altitude) is the same as the latitude from which that angle was taken. For example, the angle to the North Star for a person at 30掳 latitude will be about 30掳.';Is it true the North star always stays in the same position in the sky?
If you already knew the answer, why ask the question?

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At any place north or south of equator there are a few stars which are permanently above horizon.





All stars whose polar distances are less than the latitude of that place, circle around the North Pole.





The North Star is one among them and is visible to naked eye and is almost very near to North Pole. It circles the North Pole.
Polaris (p艒l芒r麓沫s) or North Star, star nearest the north celestial pole (see equatorial coordinate system). It is in the constellation Ursa Minor (see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor; Bayer designation Alpha Ursae Minoris) and marks the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Polaris's location less than 1掳 from the pole (1992 position R.A. 2h23.3m, Dec. +89掳14鈥? makes it a very important navigational star even though it is only of second magnitude; it always marks due north from an observer. Polaris can be located by following the line upward from the two stars (the Pointers) at the right end of the bowl of the Big Dipper or, if the Big Dipper is not visible, by following the line through the left side of the square in Pegasus through the end star in Cassiopeia. The star is a Cepheid variable and oscillates in brightness roughly every four days. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, Polaris will not remain the polestar indefinitely; in 2300 the polestar was in the constellation Draco, and by 12,000 the star Vega in the constellation Lyra will be the polestar.
Maybe for now....give it a couple thousand years....it will change.
For all practical purposes (say, for that of a ship captain) Polaris does in fact always stay in the same place in the sky, or at least within a degree or so, as somebody pointed out. It doesn't just stay ';in the same part of the sky'; or ';generally north,'; so it's a pretty darn good reference if you're navigating.





Technically, though, as someone else pointed out, the north celestial pole changes over thousands of years; sailors of the last few centuries have been lucky to happen to have a star so close to the north celestial pole by which to navigate. As precession occurs, there are large chunks of time during which there is no sizable star within five or even ten or more degrees of the north celestial pole, which would make navigation much more difficult.
yes .. thats a fact ..
It stays in the same general direction (north) only, but not the same spot in the sky.
All stars stay in the same place all the time. Stars do not move.
Because its ';North star'; and it always appears in the ';north';.So when u know the North, u can locate the other directions easily. While facing the north, the east is to ur right, west to ur left and south to ur....!!!
Yes and no. The north star is in ';about'; the same relative position in the sky and it can be a ';guide'; for boats. With today's sophisticated equipment, I wouldn't want to rely on the North Star for navigation.





The no part of the question is that the earth spins on it's axis, and it has a ';wobble'; to it. Thousands of years ago, the North Star wasn't the North star, and in a few thousand years it won't be again. In human terms the answer is yes, but in cosmic terms then the answer is no.





By the way, I'm not an astronomer or a science kinda guy, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn express once. :)
No. Due to procession the earth axis points to different parts of the sky. We are lucky that at this time it points to the north star. Vega has been the north star many 1000's of years ago. It takes 26000 years for the complete circuit. This also causes the zodiac to move with respect to the spring equinox. This is now in Aries but moving to Aquarius hence this is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The earth rotate perpendicular to the star's grain. Gravity is the answer.

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