Why is the North Star called the North Star? Where is it in the sky it is when viewed from the North Pole and the Equator?
February 20th, 2023
The North star is so called because it is almost directly above the North pole.
From the North pole it would appear to be directly overhead.
From the equator it would be just on the horizon. If you were on the equator in the following image, the North star would look to just be on the horizon.
Image source: (http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec02.html)
