Over the course of time, the North Star changes. Right now Polaris is within one degree of true north, but at other times the North Star has been and will again be Thuban (the brightest star in the constellation Draco), Vega (the brightest star in the constellation Lyra), and Alpha Cephei (the brightest star in the constellation Cepheus).
The North Star changes over time because the direction of the earth's axis changes slowly over time. Since by definition the North Star is the star most closely aligned with the earth's axis, as the axis moves the nearest star changes too.
(and so on (http://ms.essortment.com/northstarastro_rmdz.htm))
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-04-03 07:15 pm (UTC)The North Star changes over time because the direction of the earth's axis changes slowly over time. Since by definition the North Star is the star most closely aligned with the earth's axis, as the axis moves the nearest star changes too.
(and so on (http://ms.essortment.com/northstarastro_rmdz.htm))