Polar Astronomy and Anthropology For observers standing at the Pole, the heavens would appear to ha

Polar Astronomy and Anthropology

For observers standing at the Pole, the heavens would appear to have been created just for them. Their unique perspective places Polaris, the only motionless star in the sky, perfectly situated directly above them, with all the other visible stars rotating horizontal left to right paths 360 degrees around, all at an apparently equal distance away. The Sun and Moon also rotate horizontally around the polar observer, with the Sun rising and setting only once per year, creating 6 month days and 6 month nights!

For polar observers the Sun rises in the South, not the East, and circles horizontally around rising ever so slightly in the sky, about a quarter degree per day. This creates an extended morning twilight with its brilliant colors which instead of lasting for the usual 45 minutes, lasts around 45 days! Every year at the spring equinox, after a long winter night, dawn begins to break and the first traces of the Sun creep above the horizon...