Polaris
Precession · Sidereal Instruments

One turn every 25,772 years

The North Star is only on loan.

Earth's axis leans 23.4° and swings that lean in a slow circle. Scrub the millennia below; the pole drifts Thuban → Polaris → Vega, then home.

Pole star · this epoch
Polaris
α Ursae Minoris
Epoch2102 CE
Pole offset0.46°
Obliquity23.44°
Into cycle4,889 yr
Scrub the millennia 2102 CE
Thuban → Polaris → Vega → Thuban