Finding North

I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
- Julius Caesar (III, i, 60 – 62)

The stars at the front bowl of the Big Dipper, Merak and Dubhe, are called pointer stars. They point to Polaris, the North Star. Draw an imaginary line from Merak to Dubhe. Extend it five times the distance, and you'll end up at Polaris.


Contrary to Shakespeare, the North Star is neither constant nor fixed. Some facts about Polaris:

• It resides in the constellation Ursa Minor.
• It is the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper.
• At magnitude 2, it is only the 48th brightest star in the night sky.
• It is a variable star, its brightness varying over 4 days.
• It is a binary star or double star. The second star is a faint magnitude 9.
• It wasn't always the North Star. Thuban, in the constellation Draco, was the North Star around 3000 BC. In 3000 AD Gamma Cephei in the constellation Cepheus will become the North Star.
  

References:

Polaris
Wikipedia on the North Star
Wikipedia on Polaris
List of Brightest Stars
Constant as the North Star
Shakespeare Quote