At 8:45 pm EDT on October 1, 2017, Polaris (the North Star) was 32° above the horizon.
this was calculated using the quadrant/astrolabe again (for the altitude; azimuth is measured with a compass), looking directly through the straw at the star, as opposed to looking at an image of the sun
Will Polaris change its position as the night goes on ? Or is it always at 32degress above the horizon.
ReplyDeletePolaris doesn’t change its position in the sky because it is fixed above the North Pole. The angle that you see Polaris depends on your latitude. For some reason, my measure was ten degrees less than my latitude, but the quadrant I have isn’t the most accurate thing. Certain constellations are called circumpolar constellations because they move in a circle around Polaris. It’s really cool to look at one of these circumpolar constellations after a week has passed and see how it’s orientation has changed!
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