The Little Dipper, also called Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear, is one of the most widely recognized constellations in the night sky. The Little Dipper is most famous for containing the star Polaris, the North Star, which is the bright star on the far left of the constellation in the image. The significance of Polaris and the reason it is called the North Star is because Polaris is directly above the North Pole, so it can be used like a compass. This was a very handy tool for sailors in the past navigating long distances across the sea.¹

Polaris has not always been the North Star and will not always be the North Star. Due to how Earth spins on its axis, the North Star will change over the course of approximately 26000 years. At some points in history, there was no North Star at all.² Around the year 3000BCE, the North Star was a star called Thuban. 13000 years from now, Polaris will be replaced as the North Star by a star called Vega.³

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