Which star is the brightest in the constellation Ursa Minor, located slightly less than 1 degree from the north celestial pole?

Which star is the brightest in the constellation Ursa Minor, located slightly less than 1 degree from the north celestial pole?

• A. Polaris
• B. Kochab
• C. Pherkad
• D. Dubhe

Answer: (A)

Polaris shines near the north celestial pole, so it stays almost fixed in the sky while the other stars circle around it. In Ursa Minor, Polaris is also the brightest star, with an apparent magnitude around 2, which makes it outshine the other Ursa Minor stars like Kochab and Pherkad (which are fainter). It sits about 0.7 degrees from the pole, which matches “slightly less than 1 degree.” Dubhe, meanwhile, is a bright star in Ursa Major, not Ursa Minor, so it isn’t the star described. So Polaris fits both criteria: being very close to the north pole and being the brightest star in Ursa Minor.

Polaris shines near the north celestial pole, so it stays almost fixed in the sky while the other stars circle around it. In Ursa Minor, Polaris is also the brightest star, with an apparent magnitude around 2, which makes it outshine the other Ursa Minor stars like Kochab and Pherkad (which are fainter). It sits about 0.7 degrees from the pole, which matches “slightly less than 1 degree.” Dubhe, meanwhile, is a bright star in Ursa Major, not Ursa Minor, so it isn’t the star described. So Polaris fits both criteria: being very close to the north pole and being the brightest star in Ursa Minor.