lodestar

In astronomy, a guiding star is a star chosen by the observer to control the direction of long-term sky recordings . Normally the telescope or the astrograph is adjusted to the daily rotation of the starry sky in order to achieve a point-like image of the stars. As soon as one of the axes of the instrument deviates even slightly from the celestial axis (parallel to the earth axis ), the constellations become distorted into short line tracks. If a guide star is aimed at and kept in the field of view, the accuracy of the tracking increases considerably. See also: tracking (astronomy)

Guide stars are also used in space travel to align probes or to control gyroscopic platforms . The star Canopus near the southern ecliptic pole is often used for this purpose because it is always at a large angular distance from the sun.

See also:

• Artificial guiding star
• Star sensor

literature

• Günter D. Roth, Wilhelm J. Altenhoff, Rainer Beck: Handbook for Star Friends . 4th edition. Springer, 1989, ISBN 3-540-19436-3 , pp. 74, 148 .