Polaris is a yellow supergiantstar in the northerncircumpolar constellation ofUrsa Minor. It is designatedα Ursae Minoris (Latinized toAlpha Ursae Minoris) and is commonly called theNorth Star. With anapparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98,[3] it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to thenaked eye at night.[16] The position of the star lies less than1° away from the northcelestial pole, making it the current northernpole star. The stable position of the star in theNorthern Sky makes it useful fornavigation.[17]
Although appearing to the naked eye as a single point of light, Polaris is a triplestar system, composed of the primary, ayellow supergiant designated Polaris Aa, in orbit with a smaller companion, Polaris Ab; the pair is almost certainly[14] in a wider orbit with Polaris B. The outer companion B was discovered in August 1779 byWilliam Herschel, with the inner Aa/Ab pair only confirmed in the early 20th century.
Polaris Aa is anevolvedyellow supergiant ofspectral type F7Ib with 5.4solar masses (M☉). It is the first classicalCepheid to have a mass determined from its orbit. The two smaller companions are Polaris B, a 1.39 M☉ F3main-sequence star orbiting at a distance of2,400 astronomical units (AU),[18] and Polaris Ab (or P), a very close F6 main-sequence star with a mass of 1.26 M☉.[3] In January 2006,NASA released images, from theHubble telescope, that showed the three members of the Polaris ternary system.[19][20]
Polaris B can be resolved with a modest telescope. William Herschel discovered the star in August 1779 using areflecting telescope of his own, one of the best telescopes of the time.[21]
The variableradial velocity of Polaris A was reported byW. W. Campbell in 1899, which suggested this star is a binary system.[22] Since Polaris A is a known cepheid variable,J. H. Moore in 1927 demonstrated that the changes in velocity along the line of sight were due to a combination of the four-daypulsation period combined with a much longerorbital period and a largeeccentricity of around 0.6.[23] Moore published preliminaryorbital elements of the system in 1929, giving anorbital period of about 29.7 years with an eccentricity of 0.63. This period was confirmed byproper motion studies performed byB. P. Gerasimovič in 1939.[24]
As part of her doctoral thesis, in 1955E. Roemer used radial velocity data to derive an orbital period of 30.46 y for the Polaris A system, with an eccentricity of 0.64.[25]K. W. Kamper in 1996 produced refined elements with a period of29.59±0.02 years and an eccentricity of0.608±0.005.[26] In 2019, a study by R. I. Anderson gave a period of29.32±0.11 years with an eccentricity of0.620±0.008.[10]
There were once thought to be two more widely separated components—Polaris C and Polaris D—but these have been shown not to be physically associated with the Polaris system.[18][27]
The range of brightness of Polaris is given as 1.86–2.13,[4] but the amplitude has changed since discovery. Prior to 1963, the amplitude was over 0.1 magnitude and was very gradually decreasing. After 1966, it very rapidly decreased until it was less than 0.05 magnitude; since then, it has erratically varied near that range. It has been reported that the amplitude is now increasing again, a reversal not seen in any other Cepheid.[6]
The period, roughly 4 days, has also changed over time. It has steadily increased by around 4.5 seconds per year except for a hiatus in 1963–1965. This was originally thought to be due to secular redward evolution across the Cepheidinstability strip, but it may be due to interference between the primary and the first-overtone pulsation modes.[20][30][31] Authors disagree on whether Polaris is a fundamental or first-overtone pulsator and on whether it is crossing the instability strip for the first time or not.[11][31][32]
The temperature of Polaris varies by only a small amount during its pulsations, but the amplitude of this variation is variable and unpredictable. The erratic changes of temperature and the amplitude of temperature changes during each cycle, from less than50 K to at least170 K, may be related to the orbit with Polaris Ab.[12]
A 4-day time lapse of Polaris illustrating its Cepheid type variability.
Research reported inScience suggests that Polaris is 2.5 times brighter today than whenPtolemy observed it, changing from third to second magnitude.[33] AstronomerEdward Guinan considers this to be a remarkable change and is on record as saying that "if they are real, these changes are 100 times larger than [those] predicted by current theories ofstellar evolution".
Torres 2023 published a broad historical compilation of radial velocity and photometric data. He concludes that the change in the Cepheid period has reversed and is now decreasing since roughly 2010. Torres notes thatTESS data is of limited utility: as a survey telescope, TESS is optimized for dimmer stars than Polaris, so Polaris significantly over-saturates TESS's cameras. Determining an accurate total brightness for Polaris from TESS is extremely difficult, although it remains suitable for timing the period.[34]
Furthermore, apparent irregularities in Polaris Aa's behavior may coincide with the periastron passage of Ab, although imprecision in the data prevents a definitive conclusion.[34] At the Gaia distance, the Aa-Ab closest approach is6.2 AU; the radius of the primary supergiant is 46 R☉, meaning that the periastron separation is about 29 times its radius. This implies tidal forcing upon Aa's upper atmosphere by Ab. Such binary tidal forcing is known fromheartbeat stars, where eccentric periastron approaches cause rich multimode pulsation akin to anelectrocardiogram.
Szabados 1992 suggests that, among Cepheids, "phase slips" similar to what happened to Polaris in the mid 1960s are associated with binary systems.[35]
In 2024, researchers led by Nancy Evans at theHarvard & Smithsonian published a study with fresh data on the inner binary using the interferometricCHARA Array. They improved the solution of the orbit: combining CHARA data with previous Hubble data, and in tandem with theGaia distance of446±1 light-years, they confirmed the Cepheid radius estimate of 46 R☉ and re-determined its mass at5.13±0.28M☉. The corresponding Polaris Ab mass is1.316±0.028M☉. Polaris remains overluminous compared to the best Cepheid evolution models, something also seen inV1334 Cygni. Polaris's rapid period change and pulsation amplitude variations are still peculiar compared to other Cepheids, but may be related to the first-overtone pulsations.[9]
Evans et al also tentatively succeeded in imaging features on the surface of Polaris Aa: large bright and dark patches appear in close-up images, changing over time. Follow up imaging campaigns are required to confirm this detection.[9] Polaris's age is difficult to model; current best estimates find the Cepheid to be much younger than the two main sequence components, seemingly enough to exclude a common origin, which would be quite unlikely for a triple star system.[14][15]
Torres 2023 and Evans et al 2024 both suggest that recent literature cautiously agree that Polaris is a first overtone pulsator.[34][9]
Polaris azimuths vis clock face analogy.[36]A typical Northern Hemispherestar trail with Polaris in the center.Polaris lying halfway between theasterismsCassiopeia and theBig Dipper.
Because Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with theEarth's rotational axis above theNorth Pole, it stands almost motionless in the sky, and all the stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. It thus provides a nearly fixed point from which to draw measurements forcelestial navigation and forastrometry. The elevation of the star above the horizon gives the approximatelatitude of the observer.[16]
In 2018 Polaris was 0.66° (39.6 arcminutes) away from the pole of rotation (1.4 times theMoon disc) and so revolves around the pole in a small circle 1.3° in diameter. It will be closest to the pole (about 0.45 degree, or 27 arcminutes) soon after the year 2100.[37] Because it is so close to the celestial north pole, itsright ascension is changing rapidly due to theprecession of Earth's axis, going from 2.5h in AD 2000 to 6h in AD 2100. Twice in eachsidereal day Polaris'sazimuth is true north; the rest of the time it is displaced eastward or westward, and the bearing must be corrected using tables or arule of thumb. The best approximation[36] is made using the leading edge of the "Big Dipper"asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. The leading edge (defined by the starsDubhe andMerak) is referenced to a clock face, and the true azimuth of Polaris worked out for different latitudes.
The celestial pole was close toThuban around 2750 BCE,[38] and duringclassical antiquity it was slightly closer toKochab (β UMi) than to Polaris, although still about10° from either star.[39] It was about the same angular distance from β UMi as to α UMi by the end oflate antiquity. The Greek navigatorPytheas in ca. 320 BC described the celestial pole as devoid of stars. However, as one of the brighter stars close to the celestial pole, Polaris was used for navigation at least from late antiquity, and described as ἀεί φανής (aei phanēs) "always visible" byStobaeus (5th century), also termed Λύχνος (Lychnos) akin to a burner or lamp and would reasonably be described asstella polaris from about theHigh Middle Ages and onwards, both in Greek and Latin. On his first trans-Atlantic voyage in 1492,Christopher Columbus had to correct for the "circle described by the pole star about the pole".[40] InShakespeare's playJulius Caesar, written around 1599, Caesar describes himself as being "as constant as the northern star", although in Caesar's time there was no constant northern star. Despite its relative brightness, it is not, as is popularly believed, the brightest star in the sky.[41]
This artist's concept shows: supergiant Polaris Aa, dwarf Polaris Ab, and the distant dwarf companion Polaris B.
The modern namePolaris[43] is shortened from theNeo-Latinstella polaris ("polar star"), coined in the Renaissance when the star had approached the celestial pole to within a few degrees.[44][45]
Gemma Frisius, writing in 1547, referred to it asstella illa quae polaris dicitur ("that star which is called 'polar'"), placing it 3° 8' from the celestial pole.[44][45]
In 2016, theInternational Astronomical Union organized aWorking Group on Star Names (WGSN)[46] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN; which includedPolaris for the star α Ursae Minoris Aa.[47]
In antiquity, Polaris was not yet the closest naked-eye star to the celestial pole, and the entire constellation ofUrsa Minor was used for navigation rather than any single star. Polaris moved close enough to the pole to be the closest naked-eye star, even though still at a distance of several degrees, in the early medieval period, and numerous names referring to this characteristic aspolar star have been in use since the medieval period. In Old English, it was known asscip-steorra ("ship-star").[citation needed]
In the "Old English rune poem", theT-rune is apparently associated with "a circumpolar constellation", or the planet Mars.[48]
In the HinduPuranas, it became personified under the nameDhruva ("immovable, fixed").[49]
An older English name, attested since the 14th century, islodestar "guiding star", cognate with the Old Norseleiðarstjarna, Middle High Germanleitsterne.[52]
The ancient name of the constellation Ursa Minor,Cynosura (from the Greekκυνόσουρα "the dog's tail"),[53] became associated with the pole star in particular by the early modern period. An explicit identification ofMary asstella maris with the polar star (Stella Polaris), as well as the use ofCynosura as a name of the star, is evident in the titleCynosura seu Mariana Stella Polaris (i.e. "Cynosure, or the Marian Polar Star"), a collection of Marian poetry published by Nicolaus Lucensis (Niccolo Barsotti de Lucca) in 1655.[citation needed]
Ursa Minor as depicted in the 964 Persian workBook of Fixed Stars, Polaris namedal-Judayy "الجدي" in the lower right.
Its name in traditional pre-Islamic Arab astronomy wasal-Judayy الجدي ("the kid", in the sense of a juvenilegoat ["le Chevreau"] in Description des Etoiles fixes),[54] and that name was used inmedieval Islamic astronomy as well.[55][56] In those times, it was not yet as close to the north celestial pole as it is now, and used to rotate around the pole.[citation needed]
It was invoked as a symbol of steadfastness in poetry, as "steadfast star" bySpenser.Shakespeare'ssonnet 116 is an example of the symbolism of the north star as a guiding principle: "[Love] is the star to every wandering bark / Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."[57]
InJulius Caesar, Shakespeare hasCaesar explain his refusal to grant a pardon: "I am as constant as the northern star/Of whose true-fixed and resting quality/There is no fellow in the firmament./The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks,/They are all fire and every one doth shine,/But there's but one in all doth hold his place;/So in the world" (III, i, 65–71). Of course, Polaris will not "constantly" remain as the north star due toprecession, but this is only noticeable over centuries.[citation needed]
In traditionalLakota star knowledge, Polaris is named "Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila". This translates to "The Star that Sits Still". This name comes from aLakota story in which he married Tȟapȟúŋ Šá Wíŋ, "Red Cheeked Woman". However, she fell from the heavens, and in his grief Wičháȟpi Owáŋžila stared down from "waŋkátu" (the above land) forever.[59]
In the ancient Finnish worldview, the North Star has also been calledtaivaannapa andnaulatähti ("the nailstar") because it seems to be attached to the firmament or even to act as a fastener for the sky when other stars orbit it. Since the starry sky seemed to rotate around it, the firmament is thought of as a wheel, with the star as the pivot on its axis. The names derived from it weresky pin andworld pin.[citation needed]
SinceLeavitt's discovery of theCepheid variable period-luminosity relationship, and corresponding utility as astandard candle, the distance to Polaris has been highly sought-after by astronomers. It is the closest Cepheid to Earth, and thus key to calibrating the Cepheid standard candle; Cepheids form the base of thecosmic distance ladder by which to probe the cosmological nature of the universe.[62]
Distance measurement techniques depend on whether or not components A and B are a physical pair, that is,gravitationally bound. If they are, then their estimated distance can be presumed to be equal.[b] Gravitational binding of this pair is well supported by observations, and the presumption of common distance is widely adopted in historical and recent estimates.[64][65][66][26][67][62][14][9]
Formost of the 20th century, available observation technologies remained inadequate to precisely measure absolute parallax.[68][62] Instead, the main technique was to use theoretical models ofstellar evolution for bothmain sequence andgiant stars, combined withspectroscopic andphotometric data to estimate distances. Such modeling relies on theoretical assumptions and guesses, and contains muchsystematic error and statistical uncertainties in population data. Even by 2013, these techniques were still struggling to achieve even 10% precision in either main sequence[69] or Cepheid[14] modeling.
Further progress was thus limited until the advent ofHipparcos, the first instrument able to engage in all-sky absolute parallax astrometry.[68] Its first data release was in 1997.
After the arrival of the Hipparcos data, the distance to Polaris and consequent analysis of its Cepheid variation was controversial. The Hipparcos distance for Polaris was broadly but not universally adopted.[20] Immediately, the Hipparcos data for the nearest few hundred Cepheids appeared to clarify Cepheid models and to clear up then-tension in higher rungs of the distance ladder.[70] However alternatives remained; particularly by Turner et al, who published several papers between 2004 and 2013.[62]
Stellar parallax is the basis for theparsec, which is the distance from theSun to anastronomical object which has aparallax angle of onearcsecond. (1AU and 1pc are not to scale, 1 pc = about 206265 AU)
In 2018, Bond et al[14] used theHubble Space Telescope to provide an alternate direct measurement of Polaris's parallax; they summarize the back-and-forth:
However, Turner et al. (2013, hereafter TKUG13)[62] argue that the parallax of Polaris is considerably larger, 10.10 ± 0.20 mas (d =99±2 pc). The evidence cited by TKUG13 for this “short” distance includes (1) a photometric parallax for Polaris B based on measured photometry, spectral classification, and main-sequence fitting; (2) a claim that there is a sparse cluster of A-, F-, and G-type stars within 3° of Polaris, with proper motions and radial velocities similar to that of the Cepheid, for which the Hipparcos parallaxes combined with main-sequence fitting give a distance of 99 pc; and (3) a determination of the absolute visual magnitude of Polaris based on line ratios in high-resolution spectra, calibrated against supergiants with well-established luminosities. [...]
[...]
In a critique of the TKUG13 paper, van Leeuwen (2013, hereafter L13)[69] defended the Hipparcos parallax by presenting details of the solution, concluding that “the Hipparcos data cannot in any way support” the large parallax advocated by TKUG13. Using Hipparcos data, L13 also questioned the reality of the sparse cluster proposed by TKUG13, presenting evidence against it both from the color versus absolute-magnitude diagram for stars within 3° of Polaris, and their non-clustered distribution of proper motions. Lastly, L13 examined the absolute magnitudes of nearly 400 stars of spectral type F3 V in the Hipparcos catalog with parallax errors of less than 10%, and showed that the absolute magnitude of Polaris B would fall well within the observed MV distribution for F3 V stars, based on either the Hipparcos parallax of A or the larger parallax proposed by TKUG13. Thus, he concluded that the photometric parallax of B does not give a useful discriminant.
Bond et al go on to find a trigonometric parallax (independent of Hipparcos) that implies a distance further-still than the "long" Hipparcos distance, well outside the plausible range of the "short" distance estimates.
The next major step in high precision parallax measurements comes fromGaia, a space astrometry mission launched in 2013 and intended to measure stellar parallax to within25 microarcseconds (μas).[74] Although it was originally planned to limit Gaia's observations to stars fainter than magnitude 5.7, tests carried out during the commissioning phase indicated that Gaia could autonomously identify stars as bright as magnitude 3. When Gaia entered regular scientific operations in July 2014, it was configured to routinely process stars in the magnitude range 3 – 20.[75] Beyond that limit, special procedures are used to download raw scanning data for the remaining 230 stars brighter than magnitude 3; methods to reduce and analyse these data are being developed; and it is expected that there will be "complete sky coverage at the bright end" with standard errors of "a few dozen μas".[76]
Gaia DR2 does not include a parallax for Polaris A, but a distance inferred from Polaris B is136.6±0.5 pc (445.5±1.7 ly),[72] somewhat further than most previous estimates and (in principle) considerably more accurate. There are known to be considerable systematic uncertainties in DR2.[77]
Gaia DR3 significantly improved both the statistical and systematic uncertainties, although the latter remain numerous and on the order of10–60 μas[63]; the new estimate is136.9±0.3 pc (446.5±1.1 ly) using the baseline parallax zeropoint correction.[5][9][h]
Gaia DR4 (expected December 2026) will further improve the statistical and systematic uncertainties in general, and the data pipelines for variable and multiple stars in particular.[78] Multistar orbital solutions will become available, greatly aiding the study of Cepheids and Polaris, and in particular, may enable solving the outer AB orbit.[9]
^If A and B are a physical pair, then they share the same parallax; see#Distance
^Their minimum spatial separation is the angular separation: 0.09mrad (18.2 arcseconds), i.e. 0.009% of their distance from Earth; it could be higher (2x-5x) depending on the orbital eccentricity and orientation of theapsides to Earth's sightline. In any case, distance estimate uncertainties have far exceeded 0.2%, with only Gaia approaching the latter precision, when neglecting systematic uncertainties.[63] Future Gaia data may enable solving this outer orbit, constraining theapsides and thus precisely determining the distance between the components.
^abcThe paper only estimates an absolute magnitude of roughly 3.3 with an apparent magnitude of 8.51. That implies adistance modulus of 5.21, implying a distance around 110 pc. A notional magnitude error of ±0.3 would correspond to roughly ±16 pc error.
^abcThe paper only estimates an absolute magnitude of roughly 3.16. Taken with the quoted apparent magnitude 8.6, that implies adistance modulus of 5.44, implying a distance around 122 pc. A notional magnitude error of ±0.1 would correspond to roughly ±6 pc error. Extinction was concluded to be negligible.
^abcdNeilson, H. R.; Blinn, H. (2021).The Curious Case of the North Star: The Continuing Tension Between Evolution Models and Measurements of Polaris. RR Lyrae/Cepheid 2019: Frontiers of Classical Pulsators. Vol. 529. p. 72.arXiv:2003.02326.Bibcode:2021ASPC..529...72N.
^Wyller, A. A. (December 1957). "Parallax and orbital motion of spectroscopic binary Polaris from photographs taken with the 24-inch Sproul refractor".Astronomical Journal.62:389–393.Bibcode:1957AJ.....62..389W.doi:10.1086/107559.
^abcKamper, Karl W. (June 1996). "Polaris Today".Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.90: 140.Bibcode:1996JRASC..90..140K.
^Szabados, L. (1992). "Effects of Duplicity on the Period Changes of Cepheids".IAU Colloquium 135: Complementary Approaches to Double and Multiple Star Research.32: 255.Bibcode:1992ASPC...32..255S.
^Meeus, J. (1990). "Polaris and the North Pole".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.100: 212.Bibcode:1990JBAA..100..212M.
^abRidpath, Ian, ed. (2004).Norton's Star Atlas. New York: Pearson Education. p. 5.ISBN978-0-13-145164-3.Around 4800 years ago Thuban (α Draconis) lay a mere 0°.1 from the pole. Deneb (α Cygni) will be the brightest star near the pole in about 8000 years' time, at a distance of 7°.5.
^Columbus, Ferdinand (1960).The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by His Son Fredinand. Translated byKeen, Benjamin. London: Folio Society. p. 74.
^Bowditch, Nathaniel; National Imagery and Mapping Agency (2002)."15".The American practical navigator : an epitome of navigation. Paradise Cay Publications. p. 248.ISBN978-0-939837-54-0.
^abKunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006).A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts:Sky Publishing. p. 23.ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.
^Dickins, Bruce (1915).Runic and heroic poems of the old Teutonic peoples. p. 18; Dickins' "a circumpolar constellation" is attributed to L. Botkine,La Chanson des Runes (1879).
^Penprase, Bryan E. (2011). "Northern Circumpolar Sky from Around the World: The Arctic Inuit Sky".The Power of Stars. New York, NY: Springer. p. 45.ISBN978-1-4419-6802-9.
^abcKhan, S.; Anderson, R. I.; Miglio, A.; Mosser, B.; Elsworth, Y. P. (2023). "Investigating Gaia EDR3 parallax systematics using asteroseismology of cool giant stars observed by Kepler, K2, and TESS. II. Deciphering Gaia parallax systematics using red clump stars".Astronomy and Astrophysics.680: A105.arXiv:2310.03654.Bibcode:2023A&A...680A.105K.doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347919.
^abGauthier, R. P.; Fernie, J. D. (1978). "The reddening of Polaris".Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.90: 739.Bibcode:1978PASP...90..739G.doi:10.1086/130422.
^abcTurner, D. G. (2005). "Is Polaris Leaving the Cepheid Instability Strip?".Odessa Astronomical Publications.18: 115.Bibcode:2005OAP....18..115T.
^Lindegren, L.; Bastian, U.; Biermann, M.; Bombrun, A.; De Torres, A.; Gerlach, E.; Geyer, R.; Hernández, J.; Hilger, T.; Hobbs, D.; Klioner, S. A.; Lammers, U.; McMillan, P. J.; Ramos-Lerate, M.; Steidelmüller, H.; Stephenson, C. A.; Van Leeuwen, F. (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3. Parallax bias versus magnitude, colour, and position".Astronomy and Astrophysics.649.arXiv:2012.01742.Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...4L.doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039653.
^Martín-Fleitas, J.; Sahlmann, J.; Mora, A.; Kohley, R.; Massart, B.; l'Hermitte, J.; Le Roy, M.; Paulet, P. (2014). Oschmann, Jacobus M; Clampin, Mark; Fazio, Giovanni G; MacEwen, Howard A (eds.). "Enabling Gaia observations of naked-eye stars".Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical. Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave.9143: 91430Y.arXiv:1408.3039.Bibcode:2014SPIE.9143E..0YM.doi:10.1117/12.2056325.S2CID119112009.
^Khan, S.; Miglio, A.; Mosser, B.; Arenou, F.; Belkacem, K.; Brown, A. G. A.; Katz, D.; Casagrande, L.; Chaplin, W. J.; Davies, G. R.; Rendle, B. M.; Rodrigues, T. S.; Bossini, D.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Elsworth, Y. P.; Girardi, L.; North, T. S. H.; Vallenari, A. (2019). "New light on the Gaia DR2 parallax zero-point: Influence of the asteroseismic approach, in and beyond the Kepler field".Astronomy and Astrophysics.628: A35.arXiv:1904.05676.Bibcode:2019A&A...628A..35K.doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201935304.
^Brown, Anthony G. A. (2025). "Gaia: Ten Years of Surveying the Milky Way and Beyond".arXiv:2503.01533v1 [astro-ph.GA].
.svg)
![Flag of the Pan-American Exposition (1901)[83]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPan_American_Exposition_Flag.svg)
![Sledge flag used by Francis Leopold McClintock in the Arctic (1852–1854)[84]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFrancis_Leopold_McClintock%2527s_sledge_flag_(1852%25E2%2580%25931854).svg)
![Coat of arms of Utsjoki[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aUtsjoki.vaakuna.svg)
![Polaris, its surrounding integrated flux nebula, and NGC188[dubious – discuss]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIntegrated_Flux_Nebula_Surrounding_Polaris_-_Kush_Chandaria.jpg)
