Polaris

Polaris

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Right Ascension: 02h 31m 48.7s
Declination: +89° 15′ 51″
Distance from Earth: 430 Light Years

Polaris is one of the most familiar stars to astronomers, since it is located near the north celestial pole. It is often called the North Star.

Polaris is a multiple star system. Polaris B can be seen in a modest telescope.

Polaris is a Cepheid Variable. A Cepheid is a type of variable star which exhibits a regular pattern of changing brightness as a function of time. Cepheid variables are used for determining distances in modern astronomy. Polaris is our closest Cepheid.

I imaged Polaris with 85mm f/5.6 Apochromatic Refractor telescope with SBIG ST2000-XM CCD camera. The image was taken on April 26, 2009.