[amsat-bb] Re: Dont loose the north

[Joe]

For those that want to actual;ly find it here is a cool page with an 
actual photo of the area of sky.  and when you place your mouse over the 
words mouseover it gives you guide lines too,

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/C_SPRING/URSAS.HTM

or  here is another
simpler one
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/finddip.html

Joe WB9SBD

Luc Leblanc wrote:

>Thank's for those who correct me The north star is in Ursa minor constellation 
>(not major) and for the half a degree or one error from the real north pole but 
>as stated we can live with it and i should wrote also to be able to confirm the 
>north with a GPS you should move away from your point towards Polaris this way 
>your GPS will show you a direction pointing to the star.
>
>As my main topic was about not loosing the north... that's the minimum i can 
>wished you all in 2008. I am not too sure if wishing an Happy New Year is still 
>relevant? Should we wished us all a better new year instead? In french we 
>wished us good and happy new year  (freely translated) a bit more realistic but 
>lets say the goals are the same only the means differs.
>
>Here is some help to understand the North Star.
>
>Today the Earth's axis points within one degree of Polaris, the brightest star 
>in the constellation Ursa Minor (also called the Little Bear or the Little 
>Dipper). Polaris appears to be in a fixed position in the sky throughout the 
>year. All other stars and constellations seem to revolve around the North Star.
>
>In the case of the earth, precession is caused by the gravitational pull of the 
>sun and the moon. The earth's axis makes one complete rotation over the course 
>of approximately 26,000 years. If you trace the path of the axis in the sky, 
>you will find that Polaris, Vega, Thuban, and Alpha Cephei all fall on or very 
>close to it. So when the earth's axis is at a point on the path near Vega, Vega 
>becomes the North Star while Thuban is the North Star when the axis is near it 
>on the path.
>
>Five thousand years ago, Thuban was the North Star. Five thousand years from 
>now, the North Star will be Alpha Cephei. Seven thousand years after that, it 
>will be Vega. Nine thousand years after that, Thuban will be the North Star 
>again. At these dates, the various stars will be at the closest to absolute 
>north. For some time before, the relevant star will be approaching due north 
>and it will be receding for some time after the time listed. In these interim 
>times, the North Star is whichever star is closest to north. 
>
>
>"-"
>P.S. The North pole cap is melting too...just a reminder when you will give 
>your new year wishes!  As i said don't loose the North ;)
>
>Luc Leblanc VE2DWE
>Skype VE2DWE
>www.qsl.net/ve2dwe
>WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE
>
> 
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