Polaris.....

[tingting44]

just a quick Q while im finishing off the wife's V meal lol

i have grown up thinking that the north star is the brightest star in the night sky....even at my kids xmas play they were on about the north star lol why does everyone seem to think the north star/polaris is the brightest star in the night sky? i mean jupiter out shines everything apart from the moon....also couple that spring to mind are regulus.....sirius etc that are all brighter then polaris....just wondering where it comes from really as they should not be teaching young ones these days in school that the north star is the brightest lol right gonna get back to the cooking and another glass of wine before i spout any more loool, i do like a natter after a glass or 2

[crashtestdummy]

Venus outshines jupiter

Ive never heard people say polaris was the brightest star

[Steve Ward]

I took an age last month to convince a neighbour that Sirius was not the Pole star even though it was the brightest one ,

The fact that my trusty Silva compass showed it to be due South at the time , kinda proving that it couldn't really be the "North" star made very little impact on him.

All I got in the end was the classic shrug of the shoulders and a resounding " Whatever" before he slunk away back to Eastenders dragging his knuckles across the tarmac . . .

[Pig]

When I was a kid I was told the North star was the brightest - just goes to show what a load of twaddle we get taught

[Peter Drew]

I was having my car fixed at the roadside by the AA, the subject of astronomy came up and the AA man said that the only thing he knew about the subject was that the Pole star was the brightest in the sky. Good job he had a SATNAV or I might still be there.

[cosmicdonkey]

I too have noticed that a lot of people think that the north star is the brightest. I remember when i was at work and i said to my boss who always thinks that he is right " you see that star up there?" to which he replied "yes". "That's jupiter that is" i said. Being all smug like he is he said " erm i dont think that is right it is obviously the north star" To which i replied "What in the south?"

One nil to me lol

[jbdtaylor]

I too for some reason believed Polaris was the brightest until a few years ago! Unsure where I picked it up from though.

[Ibbo!]

I visit loads of schools where not only do the children but the teachers believe its the brightest star

Steve

[bntwillis]

Not only is it not the brightest, it is, in fact rather faint. But I remember thinking it was very bright as a kid.

[hes not well again]

May not be the brightest but its certainly the most useful. handy for star tests as it doesn't move about, not to mention finding north. Also good for determining your latitude

[crashtestdummy]

Just said to the girlfriend "please tell he you dont think polaris is the brightest star in the sky".to which she replied "no,the sun is".im well proud of her!!!

[Zakalwe]

I took an age last month to convince a neighbour that Sirius was not the Pole star even though it was the brightest one ,

The fact that my trusty Silva compass showed it to be due South at the time , kinda proving that it couldn't really be the "North" star made very little impact on him.

Just said to the girlfriend "please tell he you dont think polaris is the brightest star in the sky".to which she replied "no,the sun is".im well proud of her!!!

She sounds like a keeper! :icon_salut:

[tingting44]

Just to say i think its wrong for the ammount of people that think polaris is the brightest object in the sky, i thought it might have just been me/my area/schools etc that were tought this tosh but it does seem to be like this a lot of places, dont know where people got the info for this including me all them years ago lol but then again its even being said in today's school? i do not get it......afternoon rant over lol......

Venus outshines jupiter

Ive never heard people say polaris was the brightest star

I still have got to view Venus let alone image it looking forward to it tho but not its position, i think its looking quite terrile for a good old while for planet positions it sucks

I too have noticed that a lot of people think that the north star is the brightest. I remember when i was at work and i said to my boss who always thinks that he is right " you see that star up there?" to which he replied "yes". "That's jupiter that is" i said. Being all smug like he is he said " erm i dont think that is right it is obviously the north star" To which i replied "What in the south?"

One nil to me lol

its madness isnt it??? where do people get this from lol bet you had a big smile on ya face when you said "what in the south"? hahaha

Just said to the girlfriend "please tell he you dont think polaris is the brightest star in the sky".to which she replied "no,the sun is".im well proud of her!!!

Good girl!! defo a keeper buddy

i have only been looking into polaris a lot lately as i was going to do a swap with someone for my azGOto for an EQ3-2 with dual motors/polar scope/7am power tank but the drive was 4 hours away so didnt bother in the end. I did think till last week i could not see polaris from my garden view so i double checked this when the EQ3 deal came up and i can see polaris! it just about pops its self right above the top of my house, i was chuffed as drift aligning does not sound nice to learn for a newby lol but yes it is extremely dim!

Martin

[jimieee]

I remember thinking that the pole star was the brightest in the sky when I was a child.

As a teenager I found out that this wasn't the case assumed I had misunderstood something, or made a false assumption.

It sounds like I wasn't not alone!

[GrahamJ]

I find if hard to understand why anyone would think Polaris was the brightist star when it very obviously isnt.

[Caelus]

I find if hard to understand why anyone would think Polaris was the brightist star when it very obviously isnt.

The general public have an amazing capacity for ignoring the evidence of their own eyes when it doesn't match their preconceptions.

I have the idea that this myth might be so prevalent because of a lack of observation and lazy thinking.

Specifically, Polaris is one of the most easily identifiable stars and there will be a lot of non-astronomers that can locate it even if they can't find or name anything else in the night sky. I think it very likely that for many of these people the "most identifable" soon becomes the "most apparent" and therefore "must be the brightest".

[nameunknown]

...or, your teacher studied english lit. rather than physics:

"I am constant as the northern star,

Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality

There is no fellow in the firmament."

Shakespeare (JC, 3,1,60)

What we don't find in the Bard is:

"Long watches through, at one with godly night,

I mark thee planting joy in constant fire;

And thy quick beams, whose jets of life inspire

Life to the spirit, passion for the light"

[starman1969]

I seem to remember the pole star as being the brightest, most shining star when I was much younger. I probably got it mixed up with Sirius. Obviously didn't know my North from my South!