There's a moment, cresting a dune out in the Dubai desert, when gravity loosens its grip and the world goes quiet. The engine's roar dims, the wind holds its breath, and you are suspended between sky and sand.
Quad Bike Dubai desert sky and dunes
Quad Bike Dubai Lahbab camp entertainment
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai Lahbab camp entertainment
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai Lahbab camp entertainment
Then the quad bike tips forward and the slope falls away like a curtain, and you drop-clean, soft, racing-down a face the color of cinnamon. It is the closest thing to a roller coaster that nature offers, built out of wind and time rather than wood and steel. Quad Bike Dubai safety briefing included Quad Bike Dubai red dunes roller coaster may sound like a string of keywords, but out here it's a feeling with a heartbeat.
The day starts at the edge of the city, where highways thin into scrub and the skyline dissolves into haze. In Dubai, the desert is never far; the glass and water of the metropolis seem like a mirage once you pull into the lot where the quad bikes are lined up, their frames dusty, their knobby tires promising traction and mischief in equal measure. Quad Bike Dubai . The guide's briefing is practical and unhurried: keep distance, lean into the turns, throttle with intention, never fight the sand's tendencies-read it, respect it. Helmets click into place. Goggles seal out the grit. Fingers find the throttle's grip and test its defiance.
On the first stretch, the sand is deceptive: flat, forgiving, a pale mat rolled out for newcomers. Then the desert begins to rumple. The dunes here are not the milky beige of postcards; these are the famed red dunes of Lahbab, shaded by iron oxide into a mahogany blush that changes character with the sun. Ridges become rippled spines, and the wind pens small hieroglyphs across the slopes, a constantly rewritten script. You can feel the quad bike translating those marks: a slight drift to the right, a need for more throttle as the sand softens, the sudden tug as the front tires break into a descent.
The first climb to a high crest teaches you everything. On hard terrain, wheels obey; on sand, they negotiate. You learn to keep momentum without arrogance, to avoid chopping the throttle at the top, to gently float over rather than lurch. At the crest-this is the moment-the horizon uncoils, and for a heartbeat you hang. Then gravity reminds you who's in charge. Down you go, and the drop is silk, not stone: the sand cushions and hisses, a soft avalanche flowing around the tires. Quad Bike Dubai desert sky and dunes Your stomach rises, a laugh escapes uninvited, and the bike surges into the trough.
The desert ride becomes a rhythm: up-shift in the flats, steady through the climb, feather throttle at the peak, surrender to the downhill. Sightlines matter. You look where you want to go, your body anticipating the bike's lean. The shadows are tutors-deeper shade means cooler, firmer sand; bright glare warns of soft pockets. Guides communicate with small gestures: a raised arm, a pointed finger, a sweep of the hand to fan your line across a ridge.
Quad Bike Dubai Lahbab camp entertainment
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
Quad Bike Dubai office team outing
In a snake of spaced-out riders, you start to feel like part of a procession older than motors: a caravan trading jokes with the dunes.
Unlike a theme park ride, the desert's roller coaster has no pre-drawn loops, no rails, no hidden magnets. It's improvisation, a jam session with terrain. The dunes are themselves performers-one day silken and coy, the next carved and moody. Hatta Fort The wind is the quiet composer, reshaping yesterday's thrill into today's surprise. Sometimes a crest is a knife-edge; sometimes it's a table. Sometimes the drop is a whisper, sometimes a shout. Your hands, your shoulders, your breath all join the conversation.
And then there are the pauses. On a high ridge, engines ticking cool, you pull off your goggles and the light hits you. The red sand drinks the sun's fire, and the sky dilates into a blue so large it has its own gravity. Far off, the city is a faint geometry-towers reduced to a distant idea. Here, the air smells faintly of hot iron and dust, and the wind writes, erases, writes again. It's impossible not to think about the Bedouin who have read these lines for centuries, and about how small a footprint we ought to leave. You notice the guides are careful: they skirt patches of hardy shrubs, avoid wildlife burrows, pick routes that flow rather than slash. It's an adrenaline sport with a code, and that code is respect.
Back on the throttle, the laughter grows more frequent, the dunes more familiar. You lean a little earlier, trust the bike a little more. That initial tension-the argument between you and the sand-becomes a dance. The quad's engine settles into a dialect you begin to understand: a growl that means power is there when you need it, a softer hum that invites you to play. In a sweeping S-curve down one face and up the next, you feel the roller coaster again, only you're not strapped in; you're steering. That difference matters. You are not a passenger to thrill; you are part of its architecture.
By the time the sun goes low and the dunes turn wine-dark, the adrenaline has mellowed into a companionable afterglow. Dust outlines your grin when you pull off the helmet. There's a shared electricity among strangers who have just learned the same lesson: the desert is not empty. It is a living puzzle of physics and patience, a place where you can be both small and brave. The phrase that brought you here-Quad Bike Dubai red dunes roller coaster-reduces what you found and yet somehow hits its core. It's a ride. It's a landscape. It's a feeling of lightness at the crest and a whoop in the drop, the kind that follows you back to the city and into your sleep, where for a second you hang above a red slope, weightless, and the whole world is waiting to let you fly.
This article is about the Earth's current north star. For such stars in general, see pole star. For other uses, see Polaris (disambiguation) and North Star (disambiguation).
"Stella Polaris" redirects here. For the military operation, see Operation Stella Polaris.
α UMi A: 1 Ursae Minoris, BD+88°8, FK5 907, GC 2243, HD 8890, HIP 11767, HR 424, SAO 308
α UMi B: NSV 631, BD+88°7, GC 2226, SAO 305
Database references
SIMBAD
α UMi A
α UMi B
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinized to Alpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called the North Star. With an apparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98,[3] it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to the naked eye at night.[16] The position of the star lies less than 1° away from the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star. The stable position of the star in the Northern Sky makes it useful for navigation.[17]
Although appearing to the naked eye as a single point of light, Polaris is a triple star system, composed of the primary, a yellow supergiant designated Polaris Aa, in orbit with a smaller companion, Polaris Ab; the pair is almost certainly[14] in a wider orbit with Polaris B. The outer companion B was discovered in August 1779 by William Herschel, with the inner Aa/Ab pair only confirmed in the early 20th century.
As the closest Cepheid variable, Polaris Aa's distance is a foundational part of the cosmic distance ladder. The revised Hipparcos stellar parallax gives a distance to Polaris A of about 432 light-years (ly) (133 parsecs (pc)), while the successor mission Gaia gives a distance of 446.5 ly (136.9 pc) for Polaris B[9][a].
Stellar system
[edit]
Polaris components as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
Polaris Aa is an evolved yellow supergiant of spectral type F7Ib with 5.4 solar masses (M☉). It is the first classical Cepheid to have a mass determined from its orbit. The two smaller companions are Polaris B, a 1.39 M☉ F3 main-sequence star orbiting at a distance of 2,400 astronomical units (AU),[18] and Polaris Ab (or P), a very close F6 main-sequence star with a mass of 1.26 M☉.[3] In January 2006, NASA released images, from the Hubble telescope, that showed the three members of the Polaris ternary system.[19][20]
Polaris B can be resolved with a modest telescope. William Herschel discovered the star in August 1779 using a reflecting telescope of his own, one of the best telescopes of the time.[21]
The variable radial velocity of Polaris A was reported by W. W. Campbell in 1899, which suggested this star is a binary system.[22] Since Polaris A is a known cepheid variable, J. H. Moore in 1927 demonstrated that the changes in velocity along the line of sight were due to a combination of the four-day pulsation period combined with a much longer orbital period and a large eccentricity of around 0.6.[23] Moore published preliminary orbital elements of the system in 1929, giving an orbital period of about 29.7 years with an eccentricity of 0.63. This period was confirmed by proper motion studies performed by B. P. Gerasimovič in 1939.[24]
As part of her doctoral thesis, in 1955 E. Roemer used radial velocity data to derive an orbital period of 30.46 y for the Polaris A system, with an eccentricity of 0.64.[25] K. W. Kamper in 1996 produced refined elements with a period of 29.59±0.02 years and an eccentricity of 0.608±0.005.[26] In 2019, a study by R. I. Anderson gave a period of 29.32±0.11 years with an eccentricity of 0.620±0.008.[10]
There were once thought to be two more widely separated components—Polaris C and Polaris D—but these have been shown not to be physically associated with the Polaris system.[18][27]
Observation
[edit]
Variability
[edit]
A light curve for Polaris, plotted from TESS data[28]
Polaris Aa, the supergiant primary component, is a low-amplitude population I classical Cepheid variable, although it was once thought to be a type II Cepheid due to its high galactic latitude. Cepheids constitute an important standard candle for determining distance, so Polaris, as the closest such star,[10] is heavily studied. The variability of Polaris had been suspected since 1852; this variation was confirmed by Ejnar Hertzsprung in 1911.[29]
The range of brightness of Polaris is given as 1.86–2.13,[4] but the amplitude has changed since discovery. Prior to 1963, the amplitude was over 0.1 magnitude and was very gradually decreasing. After 1966, it very rapidly decreased until it was less than 0.05 magnitude; since then, it has erratically varied near that range. It has been reported that the amplitude is now increasing again, a reversal not seen in any other Cepheid.[6]
The period, roughly 4 days, has also changed over time. It has steadily increased by around 4.5 seconds per year except for a hiatus in 1963–1965. This was originally thought to be due to secular redward evolution across the Cepheid instability strip, but it may be due to interference between the primary and the first-overtone pulsation modes.[20][30][31] Authors disagree on whether Polaris is a fundamental or first-overtone pulsator and on whether it is crossing the instability strip for the first time or not.[11][31][32]
The temperature of Polaris varies by only a small amount during its pulsations, but the amplitude of this variation is variable and unpredictable. The erratic changes of temperature and the amplitude of temperature changes during each cycle, from less than 50 K to at least 170 K, may be related to the orbit with Polaris Ab.[12]
A 4-day time lapse of Polaris illustrating its Cepheid type variability.
Research reported in Science suggests that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than when Ptolemy observed it, changing from third to second magnitude.[33] Astronomer Edward Guinan considers this to be a remarkable change and is on record as saying that "if they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than [those] predicted by current theories of stellar evolution".
Torres 2023 published a broad historical compilation of radial velocity and photometric data. He concludes that the change in the Cepheid period has reversed and is now decreasing since roughly 2010. Torres notes that TESS data is of limited utility: as a survey telescope, TESS is optimized for dimmer stars than Polaris, so Polaris significantly over-saturates TESS's cameras. Determining an accurate total brightness for Polaris from TESS is extremely difficult, although it remains suitable for timing the period.[34]
Furthermore, apparent irregularities in Polaris Aa's behavior may coincide with the periastron passage of Ab, although imprecision in the data prevents a definitive conclusion.[34] At the Gaia distance, the Aa-Ab closest approach is 6.2 AU; the radius of the primary supergiant is 46 R☉, meaning that the periastron separation is about 29 times its radius. This implies tidal forcing upon Aa's upper atmosphere by Ab. Such binary tidal forcing is known from heartbeat stars, where eccentric periastron approaches cause rich multimode pulsation akin to an electrocardiogram.
Szabados 1992 suggests that, among Cepheids, "phase slips" similar to what happened to Polaris in the mid 1960s are associated with binary systems.[35]
In 2024, researchers led by Nancy Evans at the Harvard & Smithsonian published a study with fresh data on the inner binary using the interferometric CHARA Array. They improved the solution of the orbit: combining CHARA data with previous Hubble data, and in tandem with the Gaia distance of 446±1 light-years, they confirmed the Cepheid radius estimate of 46 R☉ and re-determined its mass at 5.13±0.28M☉. The corresponding Polaris Ab mass is 1.316±0.028M☉. Polaris remains overluminous compared to the best Cepheid evolution models, something also seen in V1334 Cygni. Polaris's rapid period change and pulsation amplitude variations are still peculiar compared to other Cepheids, but may be related to the first-overtone pulsations.[9]
Evans et al also tentatively succeeded in imaging features on the surface of Polaris Aa: large bright and dark patches appear in close-up images, changing over time. Follow up imaging campaigns are required to confirm this detection.[9] Polaris's age is difficult to model; current best estimates find the Cepheid to be much younger than the two main sequence components, seemingly enough to exclude a common origin, which would be quite unlikely for a triple star system.[14][15]
Torres 2023 and Evans et al 2024 both suggest that recent literature cautiously agree that Polaris is a first overtone pulsator.[34][9]
Role as pole star
[edit]
Main article: Pole star
Polaris azimuths vis clock face analogy.[36]A typical Northern Hemisphere star trail with Polaris in the center.Polaris lying halfway between the asterisms Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper.
Because Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the Earth's rotational axis above the North Pole, it stands almost motionless in the sky, and all the stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. It thus provides a nearly fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation and for astrometry. The elevation of the star above the horizon gives the approximate latitude of the observer.[16]
In 2018 Polaris was 0.66° (39.6 arcminutes) away from the pole of rotation (1.4 times the Moon disc) and so revolves around the pole in a small circle 1.3° in diameter. It will be closest to the pole (about 0.45 degree, or 27 arcminutes) soon after the year 2100.[37] Because it is so close to the celestial north pole, its right ascension is changing rapidly due to the precession of Earth's axis, going from 2.5h in AD 2000 to 6h in AD 2100. Twice in each sidereal day Polaris's azimuth is true north; the rest of the time it is displaced eastward or westward, and the bearing must be corrected using tables or a rule of thumb. The best approximation[36] is made using the leading edge of the "Big Dipper" asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. The leading edge (defined by the stars Dubhe and Merak) is referenced to a clock face, and the true azimuth of Polaris worked out for different latitudes.
The apparent motion of Polaris towards and, in the future, away from the celestial pole, is due to the precession of the equinoxes.[38] The celestial pole will move away from α UMi after the 21st century, passing close by Gamma Cephei by about the 41st century, moving towards Deneb by about the 91st century.[citation needed]
The celestial pole was close to Thuban around 2750 BCE,[38] and during classical antiquity it was slightly closer to Kochab (β UMi) than to Polaris, although still about 10° from either star.[39] It was about the same angular distance from β UMi as to α UMi by the end of late antiquity. The Greek navigator Pytheas in ca. 320 BC described the celestial pole as devoid of stars. However, as one of the brighter stars close to the celestial pole, Polaris was used for navigation at least from late antiquity, and described as ἀεί φανής (aei phanēs) "always visible" by Stobaeus (5th century), also termed Λύχνος (Lychnos) akin to a burner or lamp and would reasonably be described as stella polaris from about the High Middle Ages and onwards, both in Greek and Latin. On his first trans-Atlantic voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus had to correct for the "circle described by the pole star about the pole".[40] In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, written around 1599, Caesar describes himself as being "as constant as the northern star", although in Caesar's time there was no constant northern star. Despite its relative brightness, it is not, as is popularly believed, the brightest star in the sky.[41]
Polaris was referenced in the classic Nathaniel Bowditch maritime navigation book American Practical Navigator (1802), where it is listed as one of the navigational stars.[42]
Names
[edit]
This artist's concept shows: supergiant Polaris Aa, dwarf Polaris Ab, and the distant dwarf companion Polaris B.
The modern name Polaris[43] is shortened from the Neo-Latin stella polaris ("polar star"), coined in the Renaissance when the star had approached the celestial pole to within a few degrees.[44][45]
Gemma Frisius, writing in 1547, referred to it as stella illa quae polaris dicitur ("that star which is called 'polar'"), placing it 3° 8' from the celestial pole.[44][45]
In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[46] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which included Polaris for the star α Ursae Minoris Aa.[47]
In antiquity, Polaris was not yet the closest naked-eye star to the celestial pole, and the entire constellation of Ursa Minor was used for navigation rather than any single star. Polaris moved close enough to the pole to be the closest naked-eye star, even though still at a distance of several degrees, in the early medieval period, and numerous names referring to this characteristic as polar star have been in use since the medieval period. In Old English, it was known as scip-steorra ("ship-star").[citation needed]
In the "Old English rune poem", the T-rune is apparently associated with "a circumpolar constellation", or the planet Mars.[48]
In the Hindu Puranas, it became personified under the name Dhruva ("immovable, fixed").[49]
In the later medieval period, it became associated with the Marian title of Stella Maris "Star of the Sea" (so in Bartholomaeus Anglicus, c. 1270s),[50] due to an earlier transcription error.[51]
An older English name, attested since the 14th century, is lodestar "guiding star", cognate with the Old Norse leiðarstjarna, Middle High German leitsterne.[52]
The ancient name of the constellation Ursa Minor, Cynosura (from the Greek κυνόσουρα "the dog's tail"),[53] became associated with the pole star in particular by the early modern period. An explicit identification of Mary as stella maris with the polar star (Stella Polaris), as well as the use of Cynosura as a name of the star, is evident in the title Cynosura seu Mariana Stella Polaris (i.e. "Cynosure, or the Marian Polar Star"), a collection of Marian poetry published by Nicolaus Lucensis (Niccolo Barsotti de Lucca) in 1655. [citation needed]
Ursa Minor as depicted in the 964 Persian work Book of Fixed Stars, Polaris named al-Judayy "الجدي" in the lower right.
Its name in traditional pre-Islamic Arab astronomy was al-Judayy الجدي ("the kid", in the sense of a juvenile goat ["le Chevreau"] in Description des Etoiles fixes),[54] and that name was used in medieval Islamic astronomy as well.[55][56] In those times, it was not yet as close to the north celestial pole as it is now, and used to rotate around the pole.[citation needed]
It was invoked as a symbol of steadfastness in poetry, as "steadfast star" by Spenser. Shakespeare's sonnet 116 is an example of the symbolism of the north star as a guiding principle: "[Love] is the star to every wandering bark / Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."[57]
In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare has Caesar explain his refusal to grant a pardon: "I am as constant as the northern star/Of whose true-fixed and resting quality/There is no fellow in the firmament./The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks,/They are all fire and every one doth shine,/But there's but one in all doth hold his place;/So in the world" (III, i, 65–71). Of course, Polaris will not "constantly" remain as the north star due to precession, but this is only noticeable over centuries.[citation needed]
In Inuit astronomy, Polaris is known as Nuutuittuq (syllabics: ᓅᑐᐃᑦᑐᖅ).[58]
In traditional Lakota star knowledge, Polaris is named "Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila". This translates to "The Star that Sits Still". This name comes from a Lakota story in which he married Tȟapȟúŋ Šá Wíŋ, "Red Cheeked Woman". However, she fell from the heavens, and in his grief Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila stared down from "waŋkátu" (the above land) forever.[59]
The Plains Cree call the star in Nehiyawewin: acâhkos êkâ kâ-âhcît "the star that does not move" (syllabics: ᐊᒑᐦᑯᐢ ᐁᑳ ᑳ ᐋᐦᒌᐟ).[60]
In Mi'kmawi'simk the star is named Tatapn.[61]
In the ancient Finnish worldview, the North Star has also been called taivaannapa and naulatähti ("the nailstar") because it seems to be attached to the firmament or even to act as a fastener for the sky when other stars orbit it. Since the starry sky seemed to rotate around it, the firmament is thought of as a wheel, with the star as the pivot on its axis. The names derived from it were sky pin and world pin.[citation needed]
Distance
[edit]
Since Leavitt's discovery of the Cepheid variable period-luminosity relationship, and corresponding utility as a standard candle, the distance to Polaris has been highly sought-after by astronomers. It is the closest Cepheid to Earth, and thus key to calibrating the Cepheid standard candle; Cepheids form the base of the cosmic distance ladder by which to probe the cosmological nature of the universe.[62]
Distance measurement techniques depend on whether or not components A and B are a physical pair, that is, gravitationally bound. If they are, then their estimated distance can be presumed to be equal.[b] Gravitational binding of this pair is well supported by observations, and the presumption of common distance is widely adopted in historical and recent estimates.[64][65][66][26][67][62][14][9]
For most of the 20th century, available observation technologies remained inadequate to precisely measure absolute parallax.[68][62] Instead, the main technique was to use theoretical models of stellar evolution for both main sequence and giant stars, combined with spectroscopic and photometric data to estimate distances. Such modeling relies on theoretical assumptions and guesses, and contains much systematic error and statistical uncertainties in population data. Even by 2013, these techniques were still struggling to achieve even 10% precision in either main sequence[69] or Cepheid[14] modeling.
Further progress was thus limited until the advent of Hipparcos, the first instrument able to engage in all-sky absolute parallax astrometry.[68] Its first data release was in 1997.
Selected distance estimates to Polaris
Published
Component
Distance
Source
Notes
ly
pc
1966
B
(359)[c]
(110)[c]
Fernie[64]
Photometry and modeling of B[c]
1977
B
(399)[d]
(122)[d]
Turner[65]
Photometry and modeling of B[d]
1978
A
356*
109*
Gauthier and Fernie[66]
Modeling extinction and Cepheid evolution of A
1996
B
359*
110*
Kamper[26]
Photometry and modeling of B, reproducing prior estimates
1997
A
431±29
132±9
Hipparcos[70]
All-sky/absolute[68] parallax observations, of the primary variable[e]
2004-2013
A, B
307±13
94±4
Turner/Turner et al
Cepheid evolution modeling[30], cluster kinematics and ZAMS fitting[30][67], photometry and modeling of B[67], spectral line ratios of A calibrated on yellow supergiants[62]
329±10
101±3
323±7
99±2
2007[f]
A
432±6
133±2
Hipparcos[2][69]
All-sky/absolute parallax observations, revised analysis, of the primary variable[f]
2008
B
357*
109.5*
Usenko & Klochkova[7]
Photometry and modeling of B
2014
A
>385
>118
Neilson[71]
Cepheid evolution modeling, independent of any distance prior
2018
B
521±20
160±6
Hubble, Bond et al.[14]
Relative[68] parallax of the wide component referencing photometrically-calibrated background stars
2018
B
445.3±1.7
136.6±0.5
Gaia DR2[72]
All-sky/absolute[68] parallax observations, of the wide component[g]
2020
B
446.5±1.1
136.9±0.3
Gaia DR3[5][9]
All-sky/absolute parallax observations, of the wide component[h]
^ * This estimate didn't state its uncertainty
After the arrival of the Hipparcos data, the distance to Polaris and consequent analysis of its Cepheid variation was controversial. The Hipparcos distance for Polaris was broadly but not universally adopted.[20] Immediately, the Hipparcos data for the nearest few hundred Cepheids appeared to clarify Cepheid models and to clear up then-tension in higher rungs of the distance ladder.[70] However alternatives remained; particularly by Turner et al, who published several papers between 2004 and 2013.[62]
Stellar parallax is the basis for the parsec, which is the distance from the Sun to an astronomical object which has a parallax angle of one arcsecond. (1 AU and 1 pc are not to scale, 1 pc = about 206265 AU)
In 2018, Bond et al[14] used the Hubble Space Telescope to provide an alternate direct measurement of Polaris's parallax; they summarize the back-and-forth:
However, Turner et al. (2013, hereafter TKUG13)[62] argue that the parallax of Polaris is considerably larger, 10.10 ± 0.20 mas (d = 99±2 pc). The evidence cited by TKUG13 for this “short” distance includes (1) a photometric parallax for Polaris B based on measured photometry, spectral classification, and main-sequence fitting; (2) a claim that there is a sparse cluster of A-, F-, and G-type stars within 3° of Polaris, with proper motions and radial velocities similar to that of the Cepheid, for which the Hipparcos parallaxes combined with main-sequence fitting give a distance of 99 pc; and (3) a determination of the absolute visual magnitude of Polaris based on line ratios in high-resolution spectra, calibrated against supergiants with well-established luminosities. [...]
[...]
In a critique of the TKUG13 paper, van Leeuwen (2013, hereafter L13)[69] defended the Hipparcos parallax by presenting details of the solution, concluding that “the Hipparcos data cannot in any way support” the large parallax advocated by TKUG13. Using Hipparcos data, L13 also questioned the reality of the sparse cluster proposed by TKUG13, presenting evidence against it both from the color versus absolute-magnitude diagram for stars within 3° of Polaris, and their non-clustered distribution of proper motions. Lastly, L13 examined the absolute magnitudes of nearly 400 stars of spectral type F3 V in the Hipparcos catalog with parallax errors of less than 10%, and showed that the absolute magnitude of Polaris B would fall well within the observed MV distribution for F3 V stars, based on either the Hipparcos parallax of A or the larger parallax proposed by TKUG13. Thus, he concluded that the photometric parallax of B does not give a useful discriminant.
— [14]
Bond et al go on to find a trigonometric parallax (independent of Hipparcos) that implies a distance further-still than the "long" Hipparcos distance, well outside the plausible range of the "short" distance estimates.
The next major step in high precision parallax measurements comes from Gaia, a space astrometry mission launched in 2013 and intended to measure stellar parallax to within 25 microarcseconds (μas).[74] Although it was originally planned to limit Gaia's observations to stars fainter than magnitude 5.7, tests carried out during the commissioning phase indicated that Gaia could autonomously identify stars as bright as magnitude 3. When Gaia entered regular scientific operations in July 2014, it was configured to routinely process stars in the magnitude range 3 – 20.[75] Beyond that limit, special procedures are used to download raw scanning data for the remaining 230 stars brighter than magnitude 3; methods to reduce and analyse these data are being developed; and it is expected that there will be "complete sky coverage at the bright end" with standard errors of "a few dozen μas".[76]
Gaia DR2 does not include a parallax for Polaris A, but a distance inferred from Polaris B is 136.6±0.5 pc (445.5±1.7 ly),[72] somewhat further than most previous estimates and (in principle) considerably more accurate. There are known to be considerable systematic uncertainties in DR2.[77]
Gaia DR3 significantly improved both the statistical and systematic uncertainties, although the latter remain numerous and on the order of 10–60 μas[63]; the new estimate is 136.9±0.3 pc (446.5±1.1 ly) using the baseline parallax zeropoint correction.[5][9][h]
Gaia DR4 (expected December 2026) will further improve the statistical and systematic uncertainties in general, and the data pipelines for variable and multiple stars in particular.[78] Multistar orbital solutions will become available, greatly aiding the study of Cepheids and Polaris, and in particular, may enable solving the outer AB orbit.[9]
In popular culture
[edit]
Polaris is depicted in the flag and coat of arms of the Canadian Inuit territory of Nunavut,[79] the flag of the U.S. states of Alaska and Minnesota,[80] and the flag of the U.S. city of Duluth, Minnesota.[81][82]
Vexillology
[edit]
Flag of Nunavut
Flag of Alaska
Flag of Minnesota
Flag of Duluth, Minnesota
Flag of Maine
Flag of Maine (1901–1909)
Flag of the Pan-American Exposition (1901)[83]
Sledge flag used by Francis Leopold McClintock in the Arctic (1852–1854)[84]
Heraldry
[edit]
Coat of arms of Nunavut
Seal of Minnesota
Seal of Maine
Coat of arms of Utsjoki[citation needed]
Ships
[edit]
The Chinese spy ship Beijixing is named after Polaris.
USS Polaris is named after Polaris
Gallery
[edit]
Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor (upper right).
Big Dipper and Ursa Minor in relation to Polaris
A view of Polaris in a small telescope. Polaris B is separated by 18 arc seconds from the primary star, Polaris A.
Polaris, its surrounding integrated flux nebula, and NGC188[dubious – discuss]
See also
[edit]
Stars portal
Astronomy portal
Extraterrestrial sky (for the pole stars of other celestial bodies)
List of nearest supergiants
Polar alignment
Sigma Octantis
Polaris Flare
Regiment of the North Pole
Notes
[edit]
^If A and B are a physical pair, then they share the same parallax; see #Distance
^Their minimum spatial separation is the angular separation: 0.09 mrad (18.2 arcseconds), i.e. 0.009% of their distance from Earth; it could be higher (2x-5x) depending on the orbital eccentricity and orientation of the apsides to Earth's sightline. In any case, distance estimate uncertainties have far exceeded 0.2%, with only Gaia approaching the latter precision, when neglecting systematic uncertainties.[63] Future Gaia data may enable solving this outer orbit, constraining the apsides and thus precisely determining the distance between the components.
^ abcThe paper only estimates an absolute magnitude of roughly 3.3 with an apparent magnitude of 8.51. That implies a distance modulus of 5.21, implying a distance around 110 pc. A notional magnitude error of ±0.3 would correspond to roughly ±16 pc error.
^ abcThe paper only estimates an absolute magnitude of roughly 3.16. Taken with the quoted apparent magnitude 8.6, that implies a distance modulus of 5.44, implying a distance around 122 pc. A notional magnitude error of ±0.1 would correspond to roughly ±6 pc error. Extinction was concluded to be negligible.
^Parallax 7.56±0.48 mas
^ abParallax 7.54±0.11 mas; observations from 1989 to 1993, first analysis published 1997, revised analysis published 2007.
^Statistical distance calculated using a weak distance prior
^ abThe raw parallax is 7.2869±0.0178 mas; applying a basic systematic[63] correction[73] gives 7.3045±0.0178 mas
References
[edit]
^
"Polaris | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Cambridge English Dictionary. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ abcdefVan Leeuwen, F. (2007). "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 474 (2): 653–664. arXiv:0708.1752. Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357. S2CID 18759600.
^ abcdefghijklmEvans, N. R.; Schaefer, G. H.; Bond, H. E.; Bono, G.; Karovska, M.; Nelan, E.; Sasselov, D.; Mason, B. D. (2008). "Direct Detection of the Close Companion of Polaris with The Hubble Space Telescope". The Astronomical Journal. 136 (3): 1137. arXiv:0806.4904. Bibcode:2008AJ....136.1137E. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/136/3/1137. S2CID 16966094.
^ abcdSamus, N. N.; Kazarovets, E. V.; et al. (2017). "General Catalogue of Variable Stars". Astronomy Reports. 5.1. 61 (1): 80–88. Bibcode:2017ARep...61...80S. doi:10.1134/S1063772917010085. S2CID 125853869.
^ abcdVallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
^ abcdLee, B. C.; Mkrtichian, D. E.; Han, I.; Park, M. G.; Kim, K. M. (2008). "Precise Radial Velocities of Polaris: Detection of Amplitude Growth". The Astronomical Journal. 135 (6): 2240. arXiv:0804.2793. Bibcode:2008AJ....135.2240L. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/6/2240. S2CID 12176373.
^ abcdefghiUsenko, I. A.; Klochkova, V. G. (2008). "Polaris B, an optical companion of the Polaris (α UMi) system: Atmospheric parameters, chemical composition, distance and mass". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 387 (1): L1. arXiv:0708.0333. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.387L...1U. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00426.x. S2CID 18848139.
^Campbell, William Wallace (1913). "The radial velocities of 915 stars". Lick Observatory Bulletin. 229: 113. Bibcode:1913LicOB...7..113C. doi:10.5479/ADS/bib/1913LicOB.7.113C.
^ abcdefghijklmEvans, Nancy Remage; Schaefer, Gail H.; Gallenne, Alexandre; Torres, Guillermo; Horch, Elliott P.; Anderson, Richard I.; Monnier, John D.; Roettenbacher, Rachael M.; Baron, Fabien; Anugu, Narsireddy; Davidson, James W.; Kervella, Pierre; Bras, Garance; Proffitt, Charles; Mérand, Antoine (2024-08-01). "The Orbit and Dynamical Mass of Polaris: Observations with the CHARA Array". The Astrophysical Journal. 971 (2): 190. arXiv:2407.09641. Bibcode:2024ApJ...971..190E. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad5e7a. ISSN 0004-637X.
^ abcAnderson, R. I. (March 2019). "Probing Polaris' puzzling radial velocity signals. Pulsational (in-)stability, orbital motion, and bisector variations". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 623: 17. arXiv:1902.08031. Bibcode:2019A&A...623A.146A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201834703. S2CID 119467242. A146.
^ abFadeyev, Y. A. (2015). "Evolutionary status of Polaris". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 449 (1): 1011–1017. arXiv:1502.06463. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.449.1011F. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv412. S2CID 118517157.
^ abUsenko, I. A.; Miroshnichenko, A. S.; Klochkova, V. G.; Yushkin, M. V. (2005). "Polaris, the nearest Cepheid in the Galaxy: Atmosphere parameters, reddening and chemical composition". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 362 (4): 1219. Bibcode:2005MNRAS.362.1219U. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09353.x.
^Cayrel de Strobel, G.; Soubiran, C.; Ralite, N. (2001). "Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations for FGK stars: 2001 edition". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 373: 159–163. arXiv:astro-ph/0106438. Bibcode:2001A&A...373..159C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010525. S2CID 17519049.
^ abcdefghiBond, Howard E; Nelan, Edmund P; Remage Evans, Nancy; Schaefer, Gail H; Harmer, Dianne (2018). "Hubble Space Telescope Trigonometric Parallax of Polaris B, Companion of the Nearest Cepheid". The Astrophysical Journal. 853 (1): 55. arXiv:1712.08139. Bibcode:2018ApJ...853...55B. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa3f9. S2CID 118875464.
^ abcdNeilson, H. R.; Blinn, H. (2021). The Curious Case of the North Star: The Continuing Tension Between Evolution Models and Measurements of Polaris. RR Lyrae/Cepheid 2019: Frontiers of Classical Pulsators. Vol. 529. p. 72. arXiv:2003.02326. Bibcode:2021ASPC..529...72N.
^McNamee, Gregory (2021-05-26). "How the stars, planets and other celestial objects got their names". CNN. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
^ abWielen, R.; Jahreiß, H.; Dettbarn, C.; Lenhardt, H.; Schwan, H. (2000). "Polaris: Astrometric orbit, position, and proper motion". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 360: 399–410 [400–402, 406]. arXiv:astro-ph/0002406. Bibcode:2000A&A...360..399W.
^"There's More to the North Star Than Meets the Eye". Hubblesite.org. 2006-01-09. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
^ abcEvans, N. R.; Sasselov, D. D.; Short, C. I. (2002). "Polaris: Amplitude, Period Change, and Companions". The Astrophysical Journal. 567 (2): 1121. Bibcode:2002ApJ...567.1121E. doi:10.1086/338583.
^Argyle, Bob; et al. (August 29, 2019). An Anthology of Visual Double Stars. Cambridge University Press. p. 265. ISBN 9781108601702.
^Campbell, W. W. (October 1899). "On the variable velocity of Polaris in the line of sight". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 11: 195–199. Bibcode:1899PASP...11..195C. doi:10.1086/121339. S2CID 122429136.
^Moore, J. H. (August 1927). "Note on the Longitude of the Lick Observatory". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 39 (230): 249. Bibcode:1927PASP...39..249M. doi:10.1086/123734. S2CID 119469812.
^Roemer, Elizabeth (May 1965). "Orbital Motion of Alpha Ursae Minoris from Radial Velocities". Astrophysical Journal. 141: 1415. Bibcode:1965ApJ...141.1415R. doi:10.1086/148230.
^Wyller, A. A. (December 1957). "Parallax and orbital motion of spectroscopic binary Polaris from photographs taken with the 24-inch Sproul refractor". Astronomical Journal. 62: 389–393. Bibcode:1957AJ.....62..389W. doi:10.1086/107559.
^ abcKamper, Karl W. (June 1996). "Polaris Today". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 90: 140. Bibcode:1996JRASC..90..140K.
^Evans, Nancy Remage; Guinan, Edward; Engle, Scott; Wolk, Scott J.; Schlegel, Eric; Mason, Brian D.; Karovska, Margarita; Spitzbart, Bradley (2010). "Chandra Observation of Polaris: Census of Low-mass Companions". The Astronomical Journal. 139 (5): 1968. Bibcode:2010AJ....139.1968E. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/139/5/1968.
^"MAST: Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes". Space Telescope Science Institute. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
^Hertzsprung, Ejnar (August 1911). "Nachweis der Veränderlichkeit von α Ursae Minoris". Astronomische Nachrichten (in German). 189 (6): 89. Bibcode:1911AN....189...89H. doi:10.1002/asna.19111890602.
^ abcTurner, D. G.; Savoy, J.; Derrah, J.; Abdel-Sabour Abdel-Latif, M.; Berdnikov, L. N. (2005). "The Period Changes of Polaris". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 117 (828): 207. Bibcode:2005PASP..117..207T. doi:10.1086/427838.
^ abNeilson, H. R.; Engle, S. G.; Guinan, E.; Langer, N.; Wasatonic, R. P.; Williams, D. B. (2012). "The Period Change of the Cepheid Polaris Suggests Enhanced Mass Loss". The Astrophysical Journal. 745 (2): L32. arXiv:1201.0761. Bibcode:2012ApJ...745L..32N. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/745/2/L32. S2CID 118625176.
^Engle, Scott G; Guinan, Edward F; Harmanec, Petr (2018). "Toward Ending the Polaris Parallax Debate: A Precise Distance to Our Nearest Cepheid from Gaia DR2". Research Notes of the AAS. 2 (3): 126. Bibcode:2018RNAAS...2..126E. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/aad2d0. S2CID 126329676.
^Irion, R (2004). "American Astronomical Society meeting. As inconstant as the Northern Star". Science. 304 (5678): 1740–1. doi:10.1126/science.304.5678.1740b. PMID 15205508. S2CID 129246155.
^ abcTorres, Guillermo (2023). "The spectroscopic orbit of Polaris and its pulsation properties". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 526 (2): 2510. arXiv:2309.03257. Bibcode:2023MNRAS.526.2510T. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2735.
^Szabados, L. (1992). "Effects of Duplicity on the Period Changes of Cepheids". IAU Colloquium 135: Complementary Approaches to Double and Multiple Star Research. 32: 255. Bibcode:1992ASPC...32..255S.
^ ab"A visual method to correct a ship's compass using Polaris using Ursa Major as a point of reference". Archived from the original on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
^Meeus, J. (1990). "Polaris and the North Pole". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 100: 212. Bibcode:1990JBAA..100..212M.
^ abRidpath, Ian, ed. (2004). Norton's Star Atlas. New York: Pearson Education. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-13-145164-3. Around 4800 years ago Thuban (
α Draconis) lay a mere 0°.1 from the pole. Deneb (α Cygni) will be the brightest star near the pole in about 8000 years' time, at a distance of 7°.5.
^Ridpath, Ian (2018). "Ursa Minor, the Little Bear". Star Tales. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
^Columbus, Ferdinand (1960). The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by His Son Fredinand. Translated by Keen, Benjamin. London: Folio Society. p. 74.
^Geary, Aidan (June 30, 2018). "Look up, be patient and 'think about how big the universe is': Expert tips for stargazing this summer". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
^Bowditch, Nathaniel; National Imagery and Mapping Agency (2002). "15". The American practical navigator : an epitome of navigation. Paradise Cay Publications. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-939837-54-0.
^IAU Working Group on Star Names "IAU Catalog of Star Names". Retrieved 2016-07-28.
^ abGemmae Frisii de astrolabo catholico liber: quo latissime patentis instrumenti multiplex usus explicatur, & quicquid uspiam rerum mathematicarum tradi possit continetur. Steelsius. 1556. p. 20.
^ abKunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-931559-44-7.
^"International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
^"Bulletin of the IAU Working Group on Star Names, No. 1" (PDF).
^Dickins, Bruce (1915). Runic and heroic poems of the old Teutonic peoples. p. 18; Dickins' "a circumpolar constellation" is attributed to L. Botkine, La Chanson des Runes (1879).
^Daniélou, Alain (1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism. Princeton/Bollingen (1964); Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-892-813544.
^Halliwell-Phillipps, James Orchard, ed. (1856). The Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 5. p. 40.
^Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Name of Mary". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^Kluge, Friedrich; Götze, Alfred (1943). Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Walter de Gruyter. p. 355. ISBN 978-3-111-67185-7. cite book: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Ridpath, Ian (2018-06-28). Star Tales. Lutterworth Press. ISBN 978-0-7188-4782-1.
^ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻUmar Ṣūfī (1874). Description des Etoiles fixes. Commissionnaires de lÁcadémie Impériale des sciences. p. 45.
^Al-Sufi, AbdulRahman (964). "Book Of Fixed Stars".
^Schjellerup, Hans (1874). Description des Etoiles fixes. p. 45.
^Beach, Richard; Thein, Amanda Haertling; Webb, Allen (2012-06-25). Teaching to Exceed the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards: A Literacy Practices Approach for 6-12 Classrooms. Routledge. pp. Chp 6. ISBN 978-1-136-50288-0.
^Penprase, Bryan E. (2011). "Northern Circumpolar Sky from Around the World: The Arctic Inuit Sky". The Power of Stars. New York, NY: Springer. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4419-6802-9.
^Wind, Dakota (2019-12-27). "Winter Solstice is Sacred Time a Time to Carry One Another by Dakota Wind". Last Real Indians.
^"Polaris". Plains Cree Dictionary. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^Lebans, Jim (2022-09-29). "Mi'kmaw astronomer says we should acknowledge we live under Indigenous skies". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
^ abcdefTurner, D. G.; Kovtyukh, V. V.; Usenko, I. A.; Gorlova, N. I. (2013). "The Pulsation Mode of the Cepheid Polaris". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 762 (1): L8. arXiv:1211.6103. Bibcode:2013ApJ...762L...8T. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/762/1/L8. S2CID 119245441.
^ abcKhan, S.; Anderson, R. I.; Miglio, A.; Mosser, B.; Elsworth, Y. P. (2023). "Investigating Gaia EDR3 parallax systematics using asteroseismology of cool giant stars observed by Kepler, K2, and TESS. II. Deciphering Gaia parallax systematics using red clump stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 680: A105. arXiv:2310.03654. Bibcode:2023A&A...680A.105K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347919.
^ abFernie, J. D. (1966). "Classical Cepheids with companions. II. Polaris". Astronomical Journal. 71: 732. Bibcode:1966AJ.....71..732F. doi:10.1086/110179.
^ abTurner, D. G. (1977). "A Note on the Reddening of Polaris B". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 89: 550. Bibcode:1977PASP...89..550T. doi:10.1086/130161.
^ abGauthier, R. P.; Fernie, J. D. (1978). "The reddening of Polaris". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 90: 739. Bibcode:1978PASP...90..739G. doi:10.1086/130422.
^ abcTurner, D. G. (2005). "Is Polaris Leaving the Cepheid Instability Strip?". Odessa Astronomical Publications. 18: 115. Bibcode:2005OAP....18..115T.
^ abcdeBrown, Anthony G. A. (2021). "Microarcsecond Astrometry: Science Highlights from Gaia". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 59: 59. arXiv:2102.11712. Bibcode:2021ARA&A..59...59B. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-112320-035628.
^ abcVan Leeuwen, F. (2013). "The HIPPARCOS parallax for Polaris". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 550: L3. arXiv:1301.0890. Bibcode:2013A&A...550L...3V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220871.
^ abFeast, M. W.; Catchpole, R. M. (1997). "The Cepheid period-luminosity zero-point from HIPPARCOS trigonometrical parallaxes". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 286 (1): L1 –L5. Bibcode:1997MNRAS.286L...1F. doi:10.1093/mnras/286.1.L1.
^Neilson, H. R. (2014). "Revisiting the fundamental properties of the Cepheid Polaris using detailed stellar evolution models". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 563: A48. arXiv:1402.1177. Bibcode:2014A&A...563A..48N. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201423482. S2CID 119252434.
^ abBailer-Jones, C. A. L; Rybizki, J; Fouesneau, M; Mantelet, G; Andrae, R (2018). "Estimating Distance from Parallaxes. IV. Distances to 1.33 Billion Stars in Gaia Data Release 2". The Astronomical Journal. 156 (2): 58. arXiv:1804.10121. Bibcode:2018AJ....156...58B. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aacb21. S2CID 119289017.
^Lindegren, L.; Bastian, U.; Biermann, M.; Bombrun, A.; De Torres, A.; Gerlach, E.; Geyer, R.; Hernández, J.; Hilger, T.; Hobbs, D.; Klioner, S. A.; Lammers, U.; McMillan, P. J.; Ramos-Lerate, M.; Steidelmüller, H.; Stephenson, C. A.; Van Leeuwen, F. (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3. Parallax bias versus magnitude, colour, and position". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 649. arXiv:2012.01742. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...4L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039653.
^Liu, C.; Bailer-Jones, C. A. L.; Sordo, R.; Vallenari, A.; et al. (2012). "The expected performance of stellar parametrization with Gaia spectrophotometry". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 426 (3): 2463. arXiv:1207.6005. Bibcode:2012MNRAS.426.2463L. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21797.x. S2CID 1841271.
^Martín-Fleitas, J.; Sahlmann, J.; Mora, A.; Kohley, R.; Massart, B.; l'Hermitte, J.; Le Roy, M.; Paulet, P. (2014). Oschmann, Jacobus M; Clampin, Mark; Fazio, Giovanni G; MacEwen, Howard A (eds.). "Enabling Gaia observations of naked-eye stars". Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical. Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave. 9143: 91430Y. arXiv:1408.3039. Bibcode:2014SPIE.9143E..0YM. doi:10.1117/12.2056325. S2CID 119112009.
^T. Prusti; et al. (GAIA Collaboration) (2016). "The Gaia mission". Astronomy and Astrophysics (forthcoming article). 595: A1. arXiv:1609.04153. Bibcode:2016A&A...595A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629272. S2CID 9271090.
^Khan, S.; Miglio, A.; Mosser, B.; Arenou, F.; Belkacem, K.; Brown, A. G. A.; Katz, D.; Casagrande, L.; Chaplin, W. J.; Davies, G. R.; Rendle, B. M.; Rodrigues, T. S.; Bossini, D.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Elsworth, Y. P.; Girardi, L.; North, T. S. H.; Vallenari, A. (2019). "New light on the Gaia DR2 parallax zero-point: Influence of the asteroseismic approach, in and beyond the Kepler field". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 628: A35. arXiv:1904.05676. Bibcode:2019A&A...628A..35K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201935304.
^Brown, Anthony G. A. (2025). "Gaia: Ten Years of Surveying the Milky Way and Beyond". arXiv:2503.01533v1 [astro-ph.GA].
^"The Coat of Arms of Nunavut. (n.d.)". Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
^Swanson, Stephen (2023-12-15). "YouTuber's critique of Minnesota state flag finalists draws 1 million views". CBS Minnesota. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
^"Duluth Picks New City Flag". Fox 21. 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^Van Daele, Kate (2019-08-14). "City of Duluth selects new flag" (PDF). City of Duluth. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
^"Pan-American Flag". panam1901.org. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
^"Sir Francis McClintock Explorer - Arctic Fox Exhibition, Louth County Museum (Gallery Section)". arcticfoxtrail.com. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polaris.
Preceded by
Kochab & Pherkad
Pole star
500–3000
Succeeded by
Gamma Cephei
v
t
e
Pole star
Earth
Current
Northern
Polaris
Southern
Polaris Australis
Past and future
Northern
Vega
ι Herculis
τ Herculis
Thuban
Kochab
Errai
ι Cephei
Alfirk
Alderamin
Deneb
Fawaris
Southern
β Hydri
γ Chamaeleontis
I Carinae
ω Carinae
υ Carinae
Aspidiske
Alsephina
Canopus
Sirius
Other planets
Mercury
Northern
o Draconis
Southern
α Pictoris
Venus
Northern
η1 Doradus
Southern
Fafnir
Mars
Northern
Markeb
Southern
Sadr
Deneb
Jupiter
Northern
Aldhibah
Southern
δ Doradus
Saturn
Northern
Polaris
Southern
δ Octantis
Uranus
Northern
Sabik
Southern
15 Orionis
Neptune
Northern
Sadr
Fawaris
Southern
Regor
Other bodies
Moon
Northern
o Draconis
Southern
δ Doradus
Past and future
ω Draconis
36 Draconis
See also
Polarissima Borealis
Polarissima Australis
v
t
e
Constellation of Ursa Minor
List of stars in Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor in Chinese astronomy
Stars
Bayer
α (Polaris)
β (Kochab)
γ (Pherkad)
δ (Yildun)
ε
ζ
η
θ
λ
π1
π2
Flamsteed
3
4
5
6
8 (Baekdu)
9
10
11
12
14
17
19
20
24
Variable
R
S
T
U
V
W
Z
RR
RU
RW
SS
UY
VX
HR
5184
5596
HD
150706
Other
Calvera
H1504+65
LP 40-365
WD 1337+705
WISE 1506+7027
Exoplanets
β Ursae Minoris b
8 Ursae Minoris b (Halla)
11 Ursae Minoris b
TOI-4138 b
Galaxies
NGC
5034
5144
5939
6217
6251
6331
Other
3C 303.1
3C 309.1
Galaxy clusters
Abell 2256
Category
Portals:
Astronomy
Stars
Outer space
Authority control databases
International
VIAF
GND
National
United States
France
BnF data
Israel
Other
Yale LUX
About Al Qudra Lake
Redirect to:
Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve
From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.
About Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Great camping spot.
On a hot day 41° it wasn't as bad as we expected.
We were picked up from a location far away which is very convenient.
We arrive at the location, and we transfer to offroad car, the driver wasn't fun at all that's why I gave 4 star, he wasn't speeding or doing aggressive maneuvers. I've been to other safari's and the sand was flying and hitting the windows.
We arrive at camp and they told us we have food, sheesha, sand boarding, camel ride, henna, and soft drinks for free.
But they will negotiate everything to pay extra.
Extra for camel ride for extra time.
Extra for food to stay VIP on top of the camping, extra for sheesha to take it to ur table, extra to give you pic with camel, extra to sell you arabian dress, extra for bigger henna.
The experience was very nice. We enjoyed the sunset, didn't get the chance to snowboard or try sheesha.
The food was acceptable.
One of the best Desert Safari organizers in Dubai, highly recommended. They do it in a very professional manner. They are always on time, the drivers are more than qualified to give you the full dune bashing experience with the sense of responsibility to the guests safety. The vehicles are in a high condition to give the guests the comfort needed during the journey from the pick up point and during every moment of the trip. The location of the camp is taking in consideration the weather condition. The food quality and quantity is high and the show is interesting. The bathroom condition is great, neat and clean and in a convenient spot within the camp. All this for a very reasonable and competitive price.
Arabian Nights Tours Camp in Abu Dhabi, UAE, offers an immersive desert adventure experience. Located in the heart of the Arabian desert, the camp provides guests with a traditional Bedouin-style setting, complete with comfortable tents and authentic decor. Visitors can enjoy a range of activities, including dune bashing, camel rides, and sandboarding. The camp also features cultural entertainment such as belly dancing, henna painting, and traditional music. Guests are treated to a sumptuous buffet of Arabic cuisine under the stars, making for a memorable and picturesque desert experience. Arabian Nights Tours Camp combines adventure, culture, and relaxation in a stunning desert landscape.
It was an amazing experience driving through the desert with a 4x4, having a great dinner in the camp with good entertainment. And our driver Mohammed was awesome: very friendly, always pointing out interesting things to see and thankfully very skilled when driving through the dunes.
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates
Desert Safari Dubai - Dune Buggy Rental & ATV Quad Bike Tours - Marasi Drive - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Lake Central Tower 4th Floor - Office 404 مراسي درايف - الخليج التجاري - دبي - United Arab Emirates