Most people have never seen the Little Dipper, because most of its stars are too dim to be seen through light-polluted skies.

Polaris has been the constant guide for explorers and navigators in the northern hemisphere for thousands of years, hence its other name, the famous North Star. It is significant where it is located ...

Polaris will continue to be the pole star for a few thousand years to come, until Earth's rotational axis wanders inexorably away on its 26,000-year wobble. 2 - Thuban ...

Our Earth behaves much the same, and over time, its rotational axis traces a giant circle among the stars. Rarely does anyone other than astronomers ever think about precession since a full cycle ...

Our Earth behaves much the same, and over time, its rotational axis traces a giant circle among the stars. Rarely does anyone other than astronomers ever think about precession since a full cycle ...

This tilt of Earth’s axis at 23.5 degrees from perpendicular causes different hemispheres to be exposed to the heat of the sun during summer and to the cold, snowy days of winter.

If you are in the northern hemisphere, the northern axis of Earth points directly to Polaris or the North Star. Polaris remains fixed in the night sky as Earth rotates, so this star is vital for ...

It is exactly parallel to the Earth’s axis and points to our north star Polaris. As you climb the ten-story stairway toward the aperture at the top, you see larger and larger views of the sky.

Since there isn’t much difference between Jupiter’s orbital plane and Earth’s, Jupiter’s axis is not far off perpendicular to Earth’s, very different from our own 23.4°.

Ultramafic-influenced submarine venting on basaltic seafloor at the Polaris site, 87°N, Gakkel Ridge. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2025; 651: 119166 DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2024.119166 ...