astronomy/astrology 101

Hello all,
I have a basic understanding in both these areas but had a couple questions that maybe you all can help me with.
I think its called the Southern Star, but I have always noticed 1 or to stars/planets that have stood out in the sky. I am in NE Nevada and one in particular that really draws me in. It is the brightest star shining from about midnight-6am and usually the last to take its leave. Is this Sirius?
Also, for 2 years I have been hearing about the pole shift and last night on Coast to Coast they said that airports are being reconfigured due to the Auto navigation equipment that is gauged on Magnetic North. I heard that it has moved 40+ feet. I might have to dig out an old compass and mark the settings but was wondering if any of you have heard about this?

Im a beginner but I believe the Southern Star is only found in the southern hemisphere, while I believe (I maybe wrong) that Nevada is in the Northern Hemisphere. From what Iv recently read its also extremely hard to see with the naked eye, much to the annoyance of navigators in the South.

Sirius, is pretty easy to find. Find Orions Belt, and travel downards going to the left of it and you will see a bright star, that is Sirius and is part of the Canis Major. Here in the Uk it is on our horizon line at the moment, so Im not sure where it would be for you.

Canis Minor is pretty bright, that is the star Procyon but that sits directly underneath Gemini, that would be more to the left and higher up than Sirius.

A friend at work says that it is Sirius that I am talking about. You can't miss it from our vantage point. It is almost unnaturally bright. It shows up usually early in the morning and is usually the last star in the sky. I will have to get some charts and go from there. Thank you for your help.

[daver]

Originally Posted by cdog

Also, for 2 years I have been hearing about the pole shift and last night on Coast to Coast they said that airports are being reconfigured due to the Auto navigation equipment that is gauged on Magnetic North. I heard that it has moved 40+ feet. I might have to dig out an old compass and mark the settings but was wondering if any of you have heard about this?

Just like everything, the Earth's magnetic field is in a constant state of change. Since 1904, it has moved at an average speed of 10 km's per year, sometimes as much as 40 km's per year. Sometimes the poles flip. Such pole reversals happen at irregular intervals with the last one being around 780,000 years ago. Since airport runways are numbered based on compass headings rounded to the nearest ten degrees and dropping the last zero, their numbering will change when the poles move sufficiently.

Venus, maybe? I like seeing it in the morning this time of year, it's very bright. It rises in the east before the Sun, thus called "the Morning Star."

[Apakhana Akshobhya]

If it's not Venus I can almost guarantee you it's Jupiter.
(BTW, today @ 7-7:30et it's moon Ganymede will move behind and around the other side of Jupiter. If you have a telescope check it out!).

I am in the Northern Hemisphere as well. I don't recall if you can see Sirius at dawn or not. In the Summer, you will not see Orion or Sirius until dawn in the first place, sometimes even daybreak.

It is probably a star-gas-planet similar to the brightness of Jupiter and the movement of Venus. If it is not, it might be related to the big dipper/little dipper opposition interactions. I do admit Venus can also do that sometimes and so can Jupiter. The only flaw is Venus and Jupiter both does not stay there for a steady and complete predictions. That's why scientists perfer to graph the motion of Jupiter and Venus than actually predicting them. Sirius is the brightest visible star of the entire galaxy(ies) set(s) and is still visible in day (as long as someone use the telescope). Sirius star is not hidden unless something covers it. Even so, one can still sense Sirius star's light, magnetivity, and gravitational forces. There is really a very small chance that the Sirius star and star set(s) will leave the universe.
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/sky/feb11.html
http://www.arksky.org/index.php?pid=105

For the flipping of the core, I think it is common to change the navigation units. After all, if the atmosphere of the earth is completely broken, navigation itself will require a solar shield or planetary shield. Within the shield, there will be a navigation system that provide the shield and tell the difference of the world. Of course, this is already possible with some satellites NASA send out. The hubble space satellite is trying to reach the nineth planetoid, Pluto. At least, that is their goal for 2011 to about year similar to 3000

The southern star is the equivalent of the North star. You can only see it in the souther hemisphere because it's over the south pole, it's called Sigma Octantis, although it's not perfectly over the south pole.

Sirius is the brightest star next to our sun in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of about -1.46, (the sun is at -26.74, the full moon is -12.74).

Everything rises in the east. Venus will rise before the sun depending on it's orbit around the sun in relation to our orbit. Sometimes you can only see it as the sun sets.

Do to sidereal days being shorter than normal days (23hours, 56minutes), depending on what time of year it is changes when the stars will rise. There are some free downloads of star planetarium simulators u can download (like Stellarium) that will tell you exactly when things rise, where in the sky they'll be and when.

I don't know what the hell some of these other people are talking about. A pole shift takes many many years, it's very gradual. And We do in fact have very accurate predictions about how Venus and Jupiter move and where they'll be in the sky. Calculus was invented to figure that out. General relativity was created to predict the movements of Mercury.
Sirius is not the brightest star in the galaxy, just in our sky.

Thank you for all the posts. A guy at work had his phone graph and said that it was Sirius.
All I know is it is usually the brightest thing in the sky compared to the sun and moon. It is always fairly low in the Southern sky from my position. Usually becomes visual early in the morning and is usually the last star to hide in the daytime.

I am not sure what to think about it now.
Have been told Sirius and now Venus.
I was describing it to someone else and I kept saying the morning star.
The last one to hide from the Sun. I also asked about another bright star that hangs over the northwestern sky that is almost as bright and he said the evening star. He looked it up and said they are both one and the same and it is Venus.
The morning star I see draws me in. I have trouble blocking it out some nights. Anyways, maybe I will join a local Astronomy club and go from there.
Thanks for all the help.