December's Star is Polaris

December’s star is Polaris, or the lucida of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Polaris is also known as Alpha Ursae Minoris, the North Star, and the Lode Star. It’s the guide to true north (as opposed to magnetic north) and appears almost straight up to anyone standing on the North Pole. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky nor is it exactly true north. Polaris is the 40th brightest star in the sky and ¾ of a degree (1-1/2 moon diameters) away from the point of true north in the sky. In long duration photographs, Polaris makes a tiny little circle around the true North Pole. Polaris is an easy star to find since most people can locate the Big Dipper in the sky. The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s bowl are called the Pointers. A line drawn up from the Pointers just about runs into Polaris, which is why the stars are called the Pointers. Polaris is the star that marks the end of the Little Dipper’s handle.        

Polaris is classified as an F star, which means it’s a bit hotter than our sun. But it’s an old F star, meaning it has started fusing the helium in its core (hydrogen is still being fused, but this takes place in a shell surrounding the core). At 430 light years away, you’re seeing light from Polaris that was emitted in the year 1588.