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Earth and the Moon

The Night Sky

What are the north and south celestial poles?

In the celestial coordinate system used by astronomers, the north celestial pole is the northernmost point on the celestial sphere while the south celestial pole is the southernmost point. The line connecting the two poles represents the axis around which the celestial sphere appears to spin. Stars close to the celestial poles can be especially useful for navigation or stargazing, because the apparent motion of such stars is only a tiny amount over the course of an entire day or night.



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