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Why does the Polaris appear to remain stationary in the night sky when other stars show an apparent pattern?

1 Answer

2 votes
Because one pole of the Earth's axis of rotation (the North one) points
almost exactly toward Polaris.

If Polaris had a pimple or a bump somewhere on its edge, you'd see
the bump rotate around the whole edge, like a clock, once a day. But
the whole star appears to stay in one place, because our axis points to it.
User Ilia Kurtov
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