Question

Polaris is not a particularly bright star. To find Polaris, use the two stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper, farthest away from the handle. These two stars point to Polaris as discussed in class. Polaris is about five times the distance between these two stars.

1. Check you can find the two stars that point to Polaris.

2. Check that you can locate Polaris.

3. Draw a picture showing the two stars pointing to Polaris.





4. What constellation is Polaris in?




5. Fill in the below chart with different locations on Earth on the Northern Hemisphere.

Location Latitude Longitude Polaris Altitude
Vancouver, BC 49° N 123° W







6. Make a graph of Polaris Altitude vs. Latitude.














7. Make a graph of Polaris Altitude vs. Longitude.









8. Are there any relationship between one’s location and the altitude of Polaris? Explain using a drawing showing the earth, Polaris, and different observers on Earth.











9. Change the location to Santiago, Chile.

10. Turn off the landscape/ground.

11. What is the altitude of Polaris now? What does this mean?

Answer 1

Answer of 1, 2, and 3:

NOTE: The Azimuth and Altitude are fully depended on your location and time of observation. This observation was taken place in 22.41039 69.00813 on May, 14, 2020 at 20:30:40.

Answer of 4:

Polaris is in Ursa Minor constellation.

Answer of 5:

Answer of 6:

Answer of 7:

Answer of 8:

From the graph of Polaris Altitude vs Latitude and Polaris Altitude vs Longitude, from the different locations of earth's northen hemisphere on the same date, we can see that Polaris altitude is in linear relationship with earth location.

Answer of 9, 10, and 11:

The location of Santiago, Chile, and its latitude and longitude is -33.43780 -70.65045.

The altitude of the Polaris is  -33°.

We can conclude that the Polaris altitude is in linear relationship with earth location in northern hemisphere and in the southern hemisphere the altitude of the Polaris is negative i.e. no one can observe Polaris from the southern hemisphere.