Jugnix · free physics worksheets
The Night Sky & the Pole Star Worksheet
By the end you will: explain why the stars seem to move, find the Pole Star with the pointer stars, and link its height to your latitude.
A. Explore with the simulation
Pick each place and record the Pole Star's height. Compare it with the latitude.
Place Latitude Pole Star height Srinagar 34.1° Delhi 28.6° Chennai 13.1° Kanyakumari 8.1° Turn on the pointer stars. Which constellation are they in, and how do you use them?
Turn on star trails and move from 6 PM to midnight. What shape do the trails make? Which star barely moves?
How many degrees has the sky turned after 4 hours?
B. Work it out
A star rises about 4 minutes earlier each night. How much earlier does it rise after 30 days?
You see the Pole Star 20° above the horizon. What is your latitude?
C. Think it through
Why can't people in Australia see the Pole Star?
Answer key (for teachers and parents)
- Srinagar about 34°, Delhi about 29°, Chennai about 13°, Kanyakumari about 8°: the Pole Star's height is (very nearly) your latitude.
- In Saptarishi (the Big Dipper). Draw a line through the two end stars of the bowl and go about five times their gap to reach the Pole Star.
- Arcs of circles centred on the Pole Star, which hardly moves at all because it lies almost straight above Earth's axis.
- 60°, at 15° an hour.
- 30 × 4 = 120 minutes = 2 hours.
- About 20° N (like Aurangabad or Nagpur).
- They are south of the equator, so the North Pole's direction in the sky is below their horizon.
Free to print and share for teaching. Made with the interactive simulation at jugnix.com/simulations/night-sky.