Final answer:
If you walked north of the equator by 10 degrees, Polaris would appear to rise higher in the sky, approximately 10 degrees above the horizon. The North Star's altitude increases with your latitude, providing a reliable way to navigate by linking the altitude of Polaris to your geographical latitude.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you walked north of the equator by 10 degrees, Polaris, which is also known as the North Star, would appear to move higher in the sky. This happens because Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of Earth's rotation. As you move northward, the angle between the horizon and Polaris, also known as the star's altitude, increases at roughly the same rate as your latitude. At the equator, Polaris would be at the horizon, and at the North Pole, it would be directly overhead, or at the zenith.
To understand this with an example, if you are at the equator (0 degrees latitude), Polaris is virtually at the horizon. If you then move 10 degrees north to a latitude of 10 degrees, you would expect Polaris to be 10 degrees above the horizon. This is because your position on Earth determines how you see the celestial sphere. The further north you go, the higher the North Star rises in your field of view. It’s important to note that Polaris remains stationary relative to Earth's axis; it is our movement on the Earth’s surface that makes Polaris appear to change position.
Observers have used this property of Polaris for navigation for centuries because its altitude in the sky correlates closely with the observer's latitude. However, due to the precession of Earth's axis, the identity of the North Star changes over a cycle of approximately 26,000 years. Polaris just happens to be our current North Star, a role that will eventually be taken by other stars such as Vega in the distant future.