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How to Observe Polaris in the Daylight

A boon to navigators and explorers for hundreds of years, Polaris, or the north star, remains virtually fixed at roughly over the earth's northern pole. Polaris is the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation, named Alpha Ursae Minoris. In 2006, it was discovered that Polaris is actually made up of three separate masses, stars Aa and Ab, which are only 18.5 AUs from each other, and star B, located much further out at 2,400 AUs from Aa. Due to it's brightness and relative distance in the sky from the sun, Polaris can be observed with a telescope even during the daytime.

Things You'll Need

Telescope
Computer star plotter or existing plot

Instructions

- 1
  Calculate the exact positioning of Polaris. Use an existing plot or computer program to calculate the exact position of Polaris in the sky based on your geographic location and the time of day you'll be observing. This should be done before going out in the field to make the observation.
- 2
  Set up your telescope at the observation location. You'll need to ensure you have a stable level location for your telescope, and you must have a clear view of the northern sky.
- 3
  Focus your telescope. It is important to fix the focus of the telescope in order to catch the distant light from Polaris in the daytime. Use an object as far away as possible to set your focus on. If this cannot be done at the observation location, then the focus should be set beforehand.
- 4
  Set the telescope to the proper positioning as indicated by the positioning data you retrieved earlier. Ensure that the telescope is set to the proper azimuth and vertical position.
- 5
  Focus the telescope using to the focus level you determined earlier. The level of focus needed will vary depending on the specifics of each individual and their equipment.
- 6
  Fine tune the telescope to the location of the star. If you are within five minutes of the proper azimuth, then the star should appear to either side of the cross hairs. Polaris may appear slightly above the cross hairs due to atmospheric light refraction

Astronomy