The North Star (or Polaris) is aptly named because the axis of the Earths rotation points to
the north celestial pole (NCP) and Polaris is less than a degree away from the NCP. Therefore,
if you can locate Polaris in the night sky you know which direction is north. Polaris is visible
year round from almost any location north of the equator. It is one of the stars in a
constellation most popularly known as the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor). The handle of the dipper
is comprised of three stars, Polaris being the brightest - and situated at the end of the handle.
For those travelers visiting the southern hemisphere, your celestial guide may be the Southern
Cross, a crucifix-shaped constellation that points to the celestial south pole (CSP). More precisely,
the long end of the cross points towards Sigma Octanis, a 5.5 magnitude star located about one degree
from the CSP. Once you have found the Southern Cross youll know which direction is south. The problem
is that there are three crosses in the southern sky and it would probably take a true astronomy nerd
to differentiate between them so our best advice would be just to make sure you have a compass when
traveling south of the equator.