Question

If I am in Boston, my latitude is 42 degrees on earth...therefore Polaris should have an altitude of 42 degrees above my horizon, correct? What I want to know is if I am staying in Boston throughout the whole year, will the altitude of Polaris over the horizon ever change?

Answer 1

Yes, you are right in thinking that the altitude of Polaris will be 42 degrees from Boston. This will be constant throughout the year, save for a small wiggle caused by Polaris being slightly offset from the axis of rotation.

Infact, aside from this small wiggle, the position of Polaris in the sky is constant in terms of azimuth as well.

The distance between Earth and Polaris is very, very, very much greater than the diameter of the Earth's orbit, meaning that nothing really changes between summer and winter. What WILL change however, is the times at which Polaris is visible as the days become longer and shorter.

Other stars and constellations move in large circles around Polaris as the Earth rotates. The change in the timing and duration of daylight hours leads to some constellations being 'seasonal'. For instance, whilst in Winter you will probably see Orion quite easily at night, in Summer it happens to be daylight when he is above the horizon.

Hope that is helpful!