The Pole Star
I’ve been doing some informal polling during our daytime field trips to Perkins, and I’d like to share the results with you. Ask your average fifth grader to identify the brightest star, and most of them will reply, “Polaris,” the North Star. A quick trip outside demonstrates that your average fifth grader is wrong. Polaris is the end star in the tail of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, also known as the Little Dipper. Polaris is easy enough to find if you can see it at all. It is, after all the NORTH star. Just look directly north about half way up from the horizon. Sadly, Polaris is not particularly bright. It’s difficult to see from suburban skies because of all the streetlight pollution, and you won’t see it at all from downtown Columbus.