Something Weird Is Happening to the North Star - And It’s a Big Deal

The North Star, Polaris, is acting a little strange lately, and scientists are scratching their heads about it. Normally, it’s a pretty stable star that’s been our guiding light for centuries, but recent observations show it’s dimming and brightening in unexpected ways. This could mean something big is happening inside the star, like changes in its core or fusion process. It’s a big deal because Polaris has been a key reference point for navigation and astronomy for ages. Studying its weird behavior might teach us more about how stars like it evolve. It’s like the North Star is trying to tell us a cosmic secret!
Credit:
Till Credner:
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-Hubble/Europe Collaboration; Acknowledgment: H. Bond (STScI and Penn State University)
NASA/ESA/HST, G. Bacon (STScI)
NASA/HST
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA, Mysid
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Animation is created by Bright Side.

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[robblerouser]

Why is the North pole labelled with an "S"?

[AndrewYouTubehandle]

Putting aside 6The earth perturbations that affect the pole star, currently Polaris, the star that is the Pole Star changes. In Egyptian times it was Thurbon, wait a few thousand years and the pole star will be Vega and further out we're looking at Sirius (not that we'll be alive then).

[AceBadguy]

What was so weird and why is it a big deal ?
Got no answers from this video about Polaris and Vega, while interesting, had nothing to do with the click bait .

[AmityvilleFan]

So we might lose it in 4.5 billion years.
Wake me up then.

[KirstinDisney]

I love seeing Polar is from my bedroom window when I'm in bed. 😃

[HenryChen-vscc]

As a person who lives in the southern hemisphere I take this as a W 😎👌

[barryf]

So in other words, there's nothing weird happening to the North Star. Nor is it a big deal.

[teresamcnulty]

Polaris really isn't a very bright star. Its just there where its supposed to be, in line with the two stars on the outer wall of the "Big Dipper".

[peterhagen]

Awful. not even a minute into the video & you mess up the labelling of the north pole AND have the compass backwards! And AGAIN at nearly 5 minutes in, same mistake. Also, at 5 minutes, you seem to have the axis of the Earth going through the landmass of Northern Canada instead if in the Arctic Ocean. What a clown-show. I'm done.

[peterkallend]

This video is full of bull. Leave the science communication to actual scientists who spend their professional lives communicating their fields of study to the public. The fact that you say "if you extend that axis lightyears into space you'd hit the north star" only to then say "it stays in roughly the same place in the sky" demonstrates how ignorant you are. The fact is that earth's rotational axis does intersect a star, just not Polaris. The star it intersects is too faint and distant to see. We also have a south star, we just can't see it. In a few thousand years, due to precession, Polaris will no longer be lined up close to our rotational axis. There is nothing mysterious about this star.

[cboyles]

You've obviously stopped properly editing and double checking your work before you present it. Bit of a shame, really 🤷🤦

[hieronymus]

How come you illustrate “to the Polynesians” with a Babylonian cuneiform inscription (and not even one about astronomy) and “to the Hindus” with the Ishtar Gate of Babylon?

[RoyMintz]

If this video has difficulty correctly identifying the poles of the Earth its not worth my time watching or recommending anyone else to watch.

[Bettinasisrg]

Dare I say we've been watching it not for centuries but millennia? Keep your eyes on the skies!!

[starikip]

“Something big is happening to Toyota company, and that is why it is a big deal. Lets talk about Honda…” Millennium editor🤷🏻‍♂️😓

[David-yylb]

Fun fact Polaris is not exactly 90° its really 89° 22' 30.1"

[Leopez]

I'm so happy that I got Celestron space telescope in christmas and I've tryed it couple of times and the most interesting things that I saw were the orange spot and the white fog or cloud-like thing in the nightsky and today without even a telescope I saw the ISS because it was shown here in Finland's nightsky today I only saw it's light, but it really moved and that was exciting this is why I love space and wan't to explore all of space wonders defienitily the Moon, planets like Saturn and comets! 🌏🌍🌎🌄🏡😲🔭🌌🛰🌑🪐🌠

[zarleyworm]

Quick fyi for those that don’t know the Little Dipper actually very small compared to the Big Dipper

[screamingjimmy]

at :27 is it just me wondering this why is the S over the apparent north -ole?

[rjansandnes]

I can't see Vega in the summer. The sky is blue 24houres🤷‍♂️