How does tracking direction through stars work?

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Ok, so I just learned how using a star to track direction is supposed to work. Basically you set up two sticks one smaller than the one in front, and use them to line your vision up with a star. The rule is, if the star moves up, you’re facing east. If the star moves down, you’re facing west. If the star moves left, you’re facing north. If the star moves right, you’re facing south.

What’s got me confused is how does a star moving left indicate you’re facing north? On a compass east is 90 degrees to the right of north, so if you’re facing north, shouldn’t it look like the star is moving to the right?

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3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Remember, **the star isn’t moving**. You are moving, because the Earth rotates. So, if the star appears to move left that’s because you and your sticks have moved right.

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