Wanting to have some artwork done for a story I've written. It doesn't happen in the story, but for the artwork, is it realistic to have both the North Star and the moon visible in the sky at the same sighting? This would be in the northern hemisphere, in a northern latitude (around 45 degrees) in the fall, winter or spring. Thank you!
19
-
29$\begingroup$ The North star is always above the horizon for almost all points in the Northern hemisphere, day or night. There are limits on how close the Moon and the North Star can appear; what angle between them are you requiring? Do you expect readers to object about the accuracy of the night sky on the book cover? $\endgroup$– notovnyCommented Jul 8 at 5:14
-
21$\begingroup$ You might use a "real" sky configuration, check out Stellarium, it will show you the sky from any location at any time. As Notovny said above, if you're in the Northern hemisphere, they will both be visible at the same time on most days. stellarium.org $\endgroup$– Greg MillerCommented Jul 8 at 12:33
-
7$\begingroup$ they are never in the sky at the same time if you live much south of the equator :-D $\endgroup$– Tony EnnisCommented Jul 8 at 16:08
-
5$\begingroup$ If it's just for story art, I don't think you're gonna get any pushback for inaccuracies unless you're featured on CinemaSins $\endgroup$– Darth PseudonymCommented Jul 8 at 22:25
-
6$\begingroup$ I hesitate to ask. How will the viewer know it is the North Star in the artwork, compared to any other star? $\endgroup$– JohnHoltzCommented Jul 9 at 1:40
|
Show 14 more comments
4 Answers
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
5
It is possible to see the moon and any other star in the sky simultaneously. No matter where you are on earth, you can see half of the sky, and there is nowhere on earth from which it is impossible to see the moon (any vantage point can see one hemisphere of sky, and any orbit passes through both hemispheres of sky). There is no resonance between the moon's orbit and the earth's rotation that would complicate matters - given any night sky, you'd just need to wait a maximum of a couple weeks until the moon appears as part of it.
Barring unusual phase timing, from the surface of any planet, it's always possible to view a satellite in the sky at the same time as any other star - there is nothing unique about the earth, Polaris or the moon in this regard.
-
3$\begingroup$ I don't think you can ever see Polaris from the South Pole, so I don't quite understand this answer. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 9 at 21:00
-
1$\begingroup$ You should qualify your first sentence. From half of the Earth's surface Polaris cannot be seen AT ALL. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 10 at 6:08
-
3$\begingroup$ @wizzwizz4 If you can see a star from someplace on earth, within +/- 2 weeks, you will still be able to see that star, and you will also be able to see the moon. I'm not saying you can always see every star, I'm saying there is no such thing as a star which cannot appear in sky at the same time as the moon. The question isn't if the moon and Polaris are always visible together, it's if they are ever visible together. The answer is that the moon and every other star, not just Polaris, are at some point visible together - if you can see the star, sooner or later you'll see the moon. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 10 at 12:20
-
1$\begingroup$ How this answer addresses OP's "both the North Star and the moon visible in the sky at the same sighting?" ? From a reputable source I have "A normal visual field of each eye usually spans over 120 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically." $\endgroup$– gboffiCommented Jul 11 at 7:51
-
1$\begingroup$ @gboffi The title question only requires same time, not same sighting. But at any rate, in the right season, the moon traces an arc of more than 180 degrees across the sky every night. That means the moon always comes within 90 lateral degrees of any star visible that night, and can't be more than 90 vertical degrees away. It is possible to have the moon and any arbitrary star not just in the sky at the same time, but also within the same field of view. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11 at 13:11
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
0
The moon and Polaris will be visible in the night sky at the same time.
It is possible to have them in the field of view at the same time.
However, an accurate illustration/picture displaying more than just the sky will be difficult.
Polaris will be at a declination of 45° to the north (at 45° latitude). And the moon will always be in a southern direction in this area (north of 28.6° N, due to earth's inclination of 23.5° and the moon's inclination of 5.2° against earth's rotation). Their angular separation will be at least 60° (with the moon very high up in the sky). With this separation, neither of them could be in visual focus, while the other is still in the field of view (about 120x90 degrees as pointed out by @gboffi).
If you want to show both at the same time (and not annoy pedants), you'd need to look mostly upwards. If you want to have a meaningful amount of landscape visible in the picture (like a panoramic view as in Starry Night), you'll probably have to annoy them.
A good tool to test this out would be Stellarium. Set the time to the northern summer for the minimum separation (the +-5° variation due to the lunar orbit inclination can be tested via trial and error). For the location, Milano is a good one at 45°N.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
Yes.
I see this often from. Northern Europe.
answered Jul 8 at 7:37
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
0
Yes, this is possible from anywhere in the Northern hemisphere.
In addition to what Nuclear Hoagie has already described with regards to satellites (such as the moon,) the North Star (Polaris) is pretty much always above the horizon in the Northern hemisphere.
So, any time (a) you can see the moon, (b) you're in the Northern hemisphere, and (c) the sky is dark enough to see Polaris (i.e. night,) then both will be simultaneously visible in the night sky, assuming there aren't clouds, trees, buildings, mountains, or some other such thing blocking your view of the relevant portion of the night sky.
