What is special about the star Polaris?

Currently, the star at the northern celestial pole is Polaris, which comes from the Latin name, stella polaris, which, interesting enough, means "pole star." One wonders if somebody will change the name in the year 3000 AD, when a star called Alrai will be closer to the pole than Polaris. read more

It is the star directly on your northern horizon. It is the star straight overhead. It can be used to determine your longitude on Earth. It is the brightest star in the sky. It appears very near the north celestial pole. read more

It appears that most people arbitrarily figure that the most important star in the sky should also be the brightest, but in truth, the North Star, which goes by the name of Polaris, is a star of only medium brightness. In terms of overall rank there are quite a few stars brighter than Polaris. read more