Why do stars seem to wander across the night sky?

Stars are the heavenly bodies which shine; some of the stars shine brightly while others glow dim. Some are red and some blue. In fact stars are giant balls of gas made of hydrogen and are bound together by their own force of gravity.

Sometimes we find stars wander across the sky but in fact they do not wander, the change in their positions is due to the fact that the earth, along with us, is in a constant state of rotation. As we rotate below the stars it appears as if the stars are moving. If one looks at the northern hemisphere only one star does not appear to move therefore it is known as the fixed star. It is positioned exactly above the north pole and so it is also known as the ‘pole star’, which is a good aid in determining directions in the dark. It helps sailors find their way in the seas.

Trivia:

• Some stars are 1000 times bigger than the sun.
• The colour of stars ranges from red to yellow and to blue.
• The red star is the coolest and blue the hottest.
• Yellow stars like the sun have an average temperature.
• A new star is born every 20 days.
• The age of the oldest star in the Milky Way is about 13.2 billion years.