You cannot see the North Star from the Southern Hemisphere The North Star, the one that marks the position of the North Celestial Pole, is only visible to the Northern Hemisphere observers.
Pole Star is not visible from the southern hemisphere as it lies in line with the north pole. Pole star lies exactly above overhead if seen from north pole of the earth. So, we cannot see it from southern hemisphere beacuse of bulge in middle portion of the earth. Q.
If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you won't be able to use Polaris for navigation as it can be observed only from the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere is deprived of a pole star like Polaris to help you easily identify directions, however, it's possible to find south using Crux, or the Southern Cross.
Sigma Octantis is the current southern pole star, whose counterpart is Polaris, the current North Star. To an observer in the southern hemisphere, Sigma Octantis appears almost motionless and all the other stars in the Southern sky appear to rotate around it.
Polaris is only visible in the northern hemisphere. Polaris has been a visual aid to navigators and astronomers for centuries. Polaris is a three-star system (Supergiant Polaris A and two smaller companions)
So Polaris always stays in roughly the same place in the sky, and therefore it's a reliable way to find the direction of north. It would appear directly overhead if you stood at the north pole, but farther south, it indicated the direction of north.
The North Star is only visible in the Northern Hemisphere.
Polaris is nearly directly in line with the North Pole. As you head south toward the equator, the star will get progressively lower in the Northern Sky and eventually disappear behind the horizon once you enter the Southern Hemisphere. 4.
The Big Dipper can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere from about 26 degrees south latitude and all latitudes farther north.
The Changing Constellations Between Hemispheres
The constellations shift in the night sky, and many are unique to the northern or southern hemisphere. These are called circumpolar constellations and never set or rise. They make great reference points when locating seasonal constellations.
As part of the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog, Sirius also earns the nickname of the Dog Star. From the Northern Hemisphere, Sirius arcs across in the southern sky. From the Southern Hemisphere, it swings high overhead.
Imagine a line joining the two stars at the 'head' and the 'foot' of the cross. Extend the line out another four lengths (x) from the foot of the cross. This will determine the South Celestial Pole (the SCP). Then look straight down from the SCP to the horizon.
One reason to visit the Southern Hemisphere is to see the star system closest to us. The third brightest star in the night sky, Alpha Centauri is just 4.37 light-years away.
At the equator, it would appear to sit right on the horizon. The North Star climbs progressively higher the farther north you go; when you head south, the star drops lower and ultimately disappears from view once you cross the equator and head into the Southern Hemisphere.
And, of course, there are objects that we will never see from New Zealand, as they are hidden by the Earth, for instance The North Star – Polaris, Cassiopeia and the Small Dipper.
Although it's a common belief, Polaris is not the brightest star in the nighttime sky. In fact, it's only the 48th brightest star. But you can find it easily, and, once you do, you'll see it shining in the northern sky every night from Northern Hemisphere locations.
People in the Southern Hemisphere cannot see the Little Dipper. But they have a few circumpolar constellations of their own.
Why do the constellations and the Moon appear upside down from the Southern Hemisphere? The constellation Orion the Hunter looks upside down and flipped right to left in the Southern Hemisphere (right) compared to the Northern Hemisphere.
Southern hemisphere night skies like those in Australia have a whole bunch of galactic and intergalactic objects that you simply can't see from the northern hemisphere of the world. Looking high in the northern sky from the UK there's a large circle of circumpolar stars that you'll always see.
In the Southern Hemisphere the Milky Way is seen mostly in the southern half of the night sky. Keep an eye out for the light grey cloudy structure criss-crossed with dark shadows that make up the arms of the Galaxy.
The Northern Hemisphere is always pointing in a different direction than the Southern Hemisphere. This means that stargazers in Australia, for example, get a slightly different view of the sky and can see a few different constellations than those in the United States.
Australia faces the Milky Way which means stargazers can see 100 times the number of stars that can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. And in South Australia, we're perfectly placed. It doesn't take us long to escape the light pollution compared to bigger cities.
An imaginary line drawn from the 2 outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper always points to Polaris. People are always asking how to find Polaris, the North Star. It's easy! If you can find the Big Dipper in the northern sky, you can find Polaris.
Sirius, also known as the Dog Star or Sirius A, is the brightest star in Earth's night sky. The name means "glowing" in Greek — a fitting description, as only a few planets, the full moon and the International Space Station outshine this star. Because Sirius is so bright, it was well-known to the ancients.
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. UPDATE: This article was published in January 2022—if you're reading this in August/September 2022 then here's what you need to know about the very bright “star” in the east after dark.